New Delhi, June 11 -- India lodged a strong protest with the US over attacks by the United States on ships carrying Indian seafarers in West Asia, Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said on Thursday.

The ministry condemned the attack on the Palau-flagged MT Settebello off the coast of Oman and near the Strait of Hormuz on Wednesday, in which three Indian seafarers were killed.

The US Central Command acknowledged the strike, saying the vessel violated the ongoing US blockade of Iranian ports by attempting to transport oil from Iran.

A similar attack on a Guinea-Bissau-flagged vessel, a bitumen tanker MT Jalveer, which was carrying 20 Indian seafarers, was confirmed by the Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Waterways ...