It was like a ticking bomb that could go off any time. Only that it was a ship with a warhead stuck to its hull. The saviour — Indian Navy. The Indian Navy successfully recovered an unexploded missile warhead from a crude oil tanker that had sailed nearly 2,000 km after being struck off the coast of Oman.
The missile pierced the hull of the Marshall Islands-flagged MT Olympic Life, crossed multiple compartments and became lodged inside a fuel tank before the vessel sailed through the Arabian Sea and reached Kochi. The recovery operation, carried out by a specialist Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) team, isolated the warhead's detonation mechanism and safely extracted it along with associated debris, said the Ministry of Defence in a statement on June 11.
The Ministry of Defence described the mission as a "meticulously planned and executed high-risk operation".
The statement comes amid growing risks to commercial shipping in the Middle East (Western Asia), where merchant vessels have increasingly found themselves caught in the fire of the US-Israel-Iran War. They have been exposed and hit by missiles, drones and other sea mine attacks. Since June 9, three ships crewed by Indians have been hit by US forces enforcing a blockade around the Sea of Oman. Since the outbreak of the war, shipping companies have also had to contend with naval blockades and soaring insurance costs. The Gulf of Oman, where MT Olympic Life was hit, and adjoining waters have become one of the world's most sensitive maritime corridors, which carries a substantial share of global energy trade.
After the ceasefire broke down and the war escalated, merchant shipping in the Gulf of Oman and Strait of Hormuz once again came under threat. In recent days, a US strike on tankers "accused of breaching a blockade on Iranian ports" killed three Indian seafarers, prompting New Delhi to summon the US Charge d'Affaires and lodge a formal protest. India condemned the attacks on civilian commercial vessels. Strategic, maritime experts and shipping managers described the strikes as illegal and dangerous for global shipping.
The missile strike on MT Olympic Life occurred on May 26 while the tanker was sailing from Fujairah in the UAE to Kochi.
According to a statement issued by the Ministry of Defence on Thursday, the Indian Navy "successfully completed a complex operation involving the recovery of an unexploded missile warhead from the crude oil tanker MT Olympic Life".
The ministry said the vessel, which "did not have any Indian nationals onboard", was on passage from Fujairah to Kochi when it "reported an explosion in its hull, while off the coast of Oman on 26 May 2026."
Incidentally, Reuters had reported on May 26 that the MT Olympic Life suffered an "external explosion" on its port side, close to the waterline, about 60 nautical miles off Oman's capital Muscat. The vessel's technical manager, Springfield Shipping, said the tanker had been struck by an "unidentified object" but remained stable and operational. At the time, the cause of the blast was unknown, though the ship reported a discharge of some bunker fuel into the sea, reported the news agency.
Despite the strike, the tanker continued its voyage and later informed authorities about the presence of an unexploded missile onboard.
The response was coordinated through the Information Fusion Centre – Indian Ocean Region (IFC-IOR), following which Kochi-based Southern Naval Command deployed a specialist Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) team.
The Information Fusion Centre – Indian Ocean Region (IFC-IOR) is a 24/7 maritime security and information-sharing hub established by the Indian Navy in 2018. Located in Gurugram, Haryana, it operates as a key component of India's SAGAR (Security and Growth for All in the Region) doctrine.
The Navy's assessment revealed the scale of the challenge and a potential threat.
According to the ministry, the team confirmed that "a projectile had penetrated the vessel's hull, traversed multiple structural compartments and was lodged inside a fuel tank".
That meant the unexploded missile warhead was sitting inside a fuel storage compartment of a crude oil tanker capable of carrying millions of barrels of oil.
"In view of the risks associated with the presence of an unexploded missile warhead inside a fuel storage compartment, the EOD team adopted a deliberate and phased approach to ensure the safety of the ship, its crew and surrounding port infrastructure," the statement said.
After carrying out prescribed safety procedures, the specialists used "advanced diagnostic methods to identify and isolate the detonation mechanism" before proceeding with extraction.
The Navy then carried out the "safe extraction of the warhead along with the associated debris". The recovered ordnance has since been moved to a secure facility for storage and detailed examination.
The Ministry of Defence described the mission as a "meticulously planned and executed high-risk operation" that demonstrated the Navy's expertise in explosive ordnance disposal and complex maritime contingencies.
The operation also reflected India's SAGAR and MAHASAGAR vision, under which the Indian Navy positions itself as a security provider and first responder for maritime safety across the Indian Ocean Region.
The statement added that the operation, undertaken regardless of "the nationality of the crew or the ownership of MT Olympic Life", reaffirmed India's role as "a responsible maritime force dedicated to global maritime safety and a trusted and preferred security partner in the region."
Source: India Today