Dharamshala, June 12 -- For Rajesh Sharma, a Hamirpur-based businessman, the anxiety of having his son at sea was always countered by the promise of the young man's bright future. His only child, Aditya Sharma, 23, dreamt of a life on the ocean that saw him pursue a degree in nautical science in Scotland and he joined the merchant navy on November 24, 2025. Aditya was six months into a challenging 15-month training period as a deck cadet when his journey was cut tragically short on Wednesday. He was one of 24 Indian crew members on board Palau-flagged oil tanker, MT Settebello, when it was targeted by a US military strike near the Strait of Hormuz. While 21 of his fellow countrymen were safely rescued by responding Omani forces, the young cadet and two other Indian sailors lost their lives. Back home, his parents are living through a nightmare. His father recalled their communication on Sunday, describing a tense atmosphere in the region. Aditya had mentioned that another vessel nearby had been attacked, triggering panic across the shipping lanes, but reassured his family that their own ship was far from danger. The final text message Rajesh received from his son arrived just an hour before the MT Settebello itself was struck. "On Wednesday, we waited the entire day for his call. Later, around 9pm, we received information that the vessel had been attacked and that three crew members were missing. We also want to know who is accountable for this. We want to see him just one more time," the heartbroken father said. Grief has since turned into a demand for an inquiry. Left shattered, the family is questioning why the vessel was permitted to sail directly into a conflict zone. Aditya's uncle, Himanshu Sharma, recounted a frantic night spent coordinating with the shipping company until the formal confirmation of his death arrived around on Thursday morning. Rajesh Sharma revealed that Aditya's time at sea had become increasingly difficult. In a desperate appeal posted on X, Rajesh disclosed that his son had repeatedly complained of harassment by a senior officer on board. Aditya had tried to resign and leave the vessel back in April, with the family preserving records of those distress conversations. Originally bound to a six-month contract that should have seen him sign off on May 24, Aditya had reluctantly extended his stay by two months solely to finish half of his required training before coming home. Himanshu Sharma appealed for swift action. "Attacking a commercial vessel is an inhuman act and a crime against humanity. We appeal to the government to ensure that his mortal remains are brought home to us at the earliest," he said. Amar TL, a crewing assistant at World Maritime Energy Private Limited, through which Aditya was serving on the vessel, speaking on behalf of the company, said, "We understand the difficult situation the family is going through right now. We are a crew manning agency, and according to the information available to us, no one was forced to do anything. There was no wrongdoing on our part. We are also awaiting the captain's official statement." Meanwhile, UAE-based IOS Marine-F.Z.E, the ship manager of vessel Settebello, have demanded independent and transparent international investigation into the circumstances surrounding the incident. "To the best of our knowledge and based on the information available to us, no warning call, message, or communication was ever successfully established with the vessel prior to the action taken against it," it said in a statement. As Himachal chief minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu extended his condolences and directed the Hamirpur administration to stand firmly with the family, local MLA Inder Dutt Lakhanpal confirmed that member of Parliament Anurag Thakur is coordinating with the ministry of external affairs to bring the mortal remains back....