Summary
External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar and Liberia's Foreign Minister Sara Beysolow Nyanti have launched the "Group of Friends on Safety & Security of Shipping & Seafarers" on the margins of the UN General Assembly, with the two countries as co-chairs.
Jaishankar called repeated attacks on civilian shipping, from the Black Sea to the Red Sea to the Gulf, indefensible. He cited the attack on the MV Cape Dao in the Gulf of Oman, in which an Indian sailor was killed and the strike on the El Gaia in the Strait of Hormuz, after which an Indian crew member went missing.
The group brings together major ship-owning States, the largest ship registries and the main countries supplying seafarers. It describes itself as an inclusive, voluntary and action-oriented platform.
WHY IN NEWS FOR UPSC & STATE PCS
The group held its inaugural meeting at the UN in New York on September 25, 2026, days after the attack on the MV Cape Dao. India co-chairs it as a major source of seafarers and Liberia as the country with the world's largest shipping registry by tonnage.
Standard News
Flag States Hold the Law, Crew States Bear the Risk: The Gap India Is Trying to Close
Consider how responsibility at sea is actually divided. The flag State is the country whose flag a ship flies. Under UNCLOS Article 92, it holds exclusive jurisdiction over the ship on the high seas and under Article 94 it must supervise the ship's safety and working conditions.
Large registries such as Liberia's sell that flag to shipowners around the world. The crew, however, often comes from somewhere else entirely. India is one of the main suppliers. When a drone or missile hits a merchant ship, the law points to the flag State.
The dead and the missing are often Indian.
What Each Side Is Calculating
India wants to protect its nationals and its trade. MV Cape Dao and El Gaia are only the latest cases and Jaishankar himself said such attacks are "no longer exceptional". India's other interest is less obvious. By naming geographies, "from the Black Sea to the Red Sea to the Gulf", rather than naming attackers, India can raise the issue without taking sides in the Russia-Ukraine war, the Houthi campaign or the US-Iran conflict.
That fits its policy of keeping ties with all sides. Liberia has a reputational interest. Open registries, often called "flags of convenience", are regularly criticised for taking fees without exercising real control.
Co-chairing a safety initiative lets Liberia present its registry as responsible, which helps keep shipowners' confidence. Ship-owning States and major registries want lower insurance premiums and fewer disruptions, but without new binding obligations.
That is why the group's founding language matters. It is "voluntary" and meant to "complement" existing frameworks. In plain terms, it will not create new treaty duties or compete with the International Maritime Organization.
Where the Balance Sits This is
diplomacy that sets an agenda, not one that enforces anything. The group cannot stop a single drone. What it can do is change how the issue is discussed at the UN. Until now, seafarer safety was treated as a technical matter for regulators, insurers and shipping companies. By pairing the biggest registry with a major crew-supplying country, India has turned it into a question of protecting people, raised by States.
For the exam: read the group as India using a coalition to fill a gap in the law of the sea, between the flag States that have jurisdiction and the countries whose citizens crew the ships. This is a lower-risk form of leadership that suits India's policy of maintaining relations with all sides.
Quick Facts
Key numbers & takeaways — revise these first
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The Group of Friends on Safety & Security of Shipping & Seafarers is co-chaired by India and Liberia.
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It was launched on the margins of the 81st session of the UN General Assembly in September 2026.
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Liberia hosts the world's largest shipping registry by tonnage.
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Nearly two million seafarers operate the world's merchant fleet.
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International trade is worth more than USD 140 billion a day and oceans support over 80% of it (MEA transcript).
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The MV Cape Dao, a bulk carrier flagged in Antigua and Barbuda, was attacked in the Gulf of Oman and an Indian sailor was killed.
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The El Gaia, an oil tanker flagged in Panama, was struck in the Strait of Hormuz and an Indian crew member went missing.
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Under UNCLOS Article 92, a ship on the high seas is under the exclusive jurisdiction of its flag State.
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A "Group of Friends" is an informal UN format in which member States form a coalition around a specific cause.
Connect the dots for your UPSC preparation.
Standard news covers the event. Log in to read our comprehensive analysis and uncover the hidden constitutional, structural, and ethical dimensions of this topic:
How UNCLOS Articles 91, 92 and 94 put jurisdiction with flag States while crew-supplying countries like India bear the casualties.
Why naming geographies instead of attackers lets India lead on maritime security without taking sides in three separate conflicts.
A critical look at the group's "voluntary" design: what it can achieve at the UN and what it cannot enforce.
A roadmap from a UN coalition to concrete protections, including safe-passage arrangements, crew repatriation protocols and flag-State accountability.
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