India evacuates 19 seafarers from Yemen after two-week ordeal

India has safely evacuated 19 seafarers who were stranded in Yemen’s Hodeidah and Sana’a for approximately two weeks, the Indian mission confirmed on 8 November 2026. All members of the group were in good health and returning to India at the time of the announcement.

The evacuation comes amid continuing threats to commercial shipping and maritime personnel around Yemen and the wider region. It highlights the difficulties of securing safe passage and repatriation for crews affected by conflict, even after their immediate safety has been established.

What has the Indian mission confirmed?

In its statement, the Embassy of India to Yemen said: “All seafarers are safe, in good health, and on their way back to India.”

The mission thanked those involved in facilitating the evacuation. Its announcement did not identify the vessels or employers associated with the group, explain how the seafarers became stranded, or provide details of their evacuation route.

The confirmed position was that the group had been evacuated and was travelling home. The statement did not confirm their arrival in India or specify their individual destinations.

Is the evacuation linked to the earlier yacht incident?

The evacuation followed an earlier announcement concerning 14 Indian nationals aboard a yacht involved in an incident near Hodeidah.

On 23 October, the Indian mission said those nationals were safe and that it was communicating with relevant parties to establish the circumstances.

However, the available information does not establish whether the 14 people aboard the yacht were among the 19 seafarers subsequently evacuated. The two developments therefore cannot be treated as a single confirmed incident. Nor has the mission’s evacuation announcement established that an attack caused the entire group to become stranded.

Why does the evacuation matter for maritime crew welfare?

The announcement followed renewed international concern over the human consequences of attacks on shipping.

Meeting in London from 2–6 November, the International Maritime Organization (IMO) Council reaffirmed that shipping lanes must remain safe and secure and that seafarers require protection regardless of nationality.

IMO Secretary-General Arsenio Dominguez highlighted deaths, serious injuries, abandonment, obstacles to repatriation and shortages of basic necessities arising from geopolitical conflicts.

In its 6 November statement, the organisation said it had verified at least 130 attacks against commercial vessels in the region. It also reported 25 confirmed seafarer deaths since the onset of the Middle East conflict, following another fatal incident in the Strait of Hormuz.

Those figures cover the wider regional crisis and should not be attributed specifically to Yemen or the evacuation of these 19 seafarers. The Council called on member states to avoid unlawful measures that endanger crews and international shipping.

What security guidance covers the Yemen maritime region?

India’s maritime administration issued Circular 42 of 2026 on 23 July, addressing security for Indian-flagged vessels and foreign-flagged ships carrying Indian seafarers around Yemen, the Bab-el-Mandeb Strait and the southern Red Sea.

The advisory’s scope reflects the exposure of Indian maritime personnel across different flag registries. The administration has also published separate advisories covering the Gulf region and the Gulf of Aden.

India has previously organised evacuations from Yemen, notably Operation Raahat in March–April 2015. During that operation, naval vessels transported evacuees to Djibouti for onward travel aboard military aircraft and civilian flights.

That earlier operation provides historical context for India’s consular response in Yemen, although the mission has not disclosed comparable transport arrangements for the latest evacuation.