External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Friday highlighted India’s concerns over the growing number of attacks on commercial shipping and seafarers, saying such incidents had become a serious threat to maritime commerce and civilian lives, news agency IANS reported.

Addressing the inaugural meeting of the Group of Friends on Safety and Security of Shipping and Seafarers on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly, Jaishankar said India and Liberia had brought together a group of countries to strengthen efforts to protect commercial vessels and their crews.

Jaishankar referred to a recent attack on the Antigua and Barbuda-flagged bulk carrier MV Cape Dove in the Gulf of Oman, in which an Indian sailor was killed. He also cited the attack on the Panama-flagged oil tanker El Gaya in the Strait of Hormuz around 10 days earlier, following which an Indian crew member went missing.

“These, regrettably, are no longer exceptional occurrences,” Jaishankar said.

He also referred to two attacks in the Black Sea. According to Jaishankar, the chief officer of MV Omorfi, an Indian national, was killed after the vessel was hit in Russian territorial waters on July 18.