NEW DELHI — The Union Government informed the Supreme Court on Friday that two Indian seafarers, Deepak Kumar Gupta and Rama Chandra, could not be located despite exhaustive search and rescue operations conducted following an attack on their cargo vessel in the Black Sea near Ukraine. A three-judge bench comprising Chief Justice Surya Kant, Justice Joymalya Bagchi, and Justice V. Mohana evaluated an action taken report submitted jointly by the Ministry of External Affairs and the Directorate General of Maritime Administration, noting that emergency efforts were undertaken by Ukrainian authorities alongside the Romanian Maritime Rescue Coordination Centre and the Romanian Coast Guard.
The top court recorded that active search and rescue operations have been temporarily suspended pending new intelligence, though Indian maritime and diplomatic authorities remain engaged with regional stakeholders to pursue investigation updates. Solicitor General Tushar Mehta told the bench that diplomatic channels were mobilized to coordinate with Indian embassies in Kyiv and Bucharest following earlier judicial directions. Addressing concerns raised by the families, Justice Bagchi directed the Centre to assist the relatives of the missing crew members in processing their employment insurance claims with the vessel’s operators.
The judicial proceedings stem from a petition filed by Sandeep Kumar Gupta, the elder brother of 22-year-old Deepak Gupta, seeking diplomatic intervention to trace his brother after their merchant vessel, MV AGN Ragnar, came under attack near Ukraine’s Odesa port. Deepak Gupta, a resident of Bareilly in Uttar Pradesh whose family originates from Siwan district in Bihar, was among the Indian crew members aboard the vessel when the incident occurred in late July. While the petitioner’s counsel argued that initial rescue coordination faced delays, the government assured the court that continuous administrative follow-up will be maintained with international maritime agencies.
