India’s Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) confirmed late Monday that 2,549 Indian nationals have now been moved out of Iran and that more than 3,000 seafarers have been repatriated from Gulf waters since fighting in West Asia intensified last month. A dedicated control room in New Delhi is coordinating with Indian embassies, airlines and shipping companies to track flights, advise on safe routes and arrange charter evacuations where commercial lift is unavailable. Additional Secretary Aseem R. Mahajan told reporters that Air India, IndiGo and Air India Express are operating ad-hoc services via UAE and Saudi Arabian airspace, while land routes through Armenia and Azerbaijan are being used to bus Indian students and medical tourists out of northern Iran. The Directorate General of Shipping reported 8,889 helpline calls and nearly 20,000 emails since the crisis began, underscoring the volume of anxious families and employers seeking updates. Maritime operations remain India’s biggest headache. More than 60,000 Indian seafarers work in the Gulf at any given time, and the Strait of Hormuz handles 20 per cent of India’s crude imports. Although no Indian-flagged vessel has been hit so far, insurers have raised war-risk premiums and several energy companies are re-routing tankers around the Cape of Good Hope, adding 12–15 days to voyage times and pushing freight rates higher. Indian exporters are also feeling the pinch. Engineering Export Promotion Council (EEPC) chair Arun Kumar estimates that delayed shipments to Iran and Iraq could cost small and mid-size manufacturers up to ₹3,000 crore in Q1 FY27 if diversions persist. The Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) has urged the MEA to negotiate safe-passage corridors for Indian cargoes and press international partners to stabilise shipping lanes. Companies with personnel in the region should ensure that emergency travel policies are up to date, register employees on the MEA’s MADAD portal and reconsider non-essential travel to Iran until the advisory is lifted. Travel insurers are already inserting “war exclusions” for West Asia, so mobility managers need to verify coverage before booking itineraries.
Source: Moneycontrol
