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India's Shipping Ministry Asks Public for Help on Cold-Case Fatal Accidents

The double explosion and fire on the LPG carriers Candy and Maestro, which killed 20 people and burned for more than a month (Via social media)
The double explosion and fire on the LPG carriers Candy and Maestro, which killed 20 people and burned for more than a month (Via social media)

By The Maritime Executive 2026-11-12 21:26:00

India's Directorate General of Maritime Administration is looking for information about a long list of long-past fatality and missing-persons cases involving Indian seafarers, some dating back as far as 2013. It is putting out a public appeal partly because of a loss of records stemming from the closure of past victims' employers and crewing offices. 

The list covers 30 cases affecting 46 Indian seafarers, including 30 confirmed fatalities and 16 missing crewmembers. 

The DGMA says that it wants to collect as much evidence as possible about the cases, hoping to fill in any possible gaps, and it is soliciting input from the public and from shipping interests. 

"In respect of several such cases, the recruitment and placement service (RPS) companies, through which the concerned seafarers were recruited, are presently either under suspension or their [licenses] have been withdrawn/ceased to be valid," the agency explained. "Obtaining updated information and records from the concerned RPS companies has, in several cases, have been inadvertently found to be restricted and limited."

The list spans cases from 2013-2024. By far the largest on the list is the dual explosion and fire aboard the LPG carriers Candy and Maestro in the Kerch Strait in January 2019. The two vessels were engaged in a ship-to-ship transfer when a blast occurred, and their cargo tanks took more than a month to fully burn out. Out of 32 crewmembers on the two vessels, 20 were killed or left missing. The ministry is still seeking information on six Indian seafarers killed and six others unaccounted-for in connection with the severe double casualty. The case is still in litigation in a Russian court. 

The casualties on the list are clustered in the Mideast / Arabian Gulf and in Malaysia, reflecting regional patterns of seafarer employment. All vessel classes are represented on the list, with higher numbers involving freighters and tugs.