<p data-path-to-node="5"><b data-path-to-node="5" data-index-in-node="0">NEW DELHI —</b> In a drastic regulatory response to escalating regional instability, the Directorate General of Maritime Administration (DGMA) has issued a strict operational advisory halting all assignments of Indian mariners to commercial fleets navigating the critical bottlenecks of West Asia. The sweeping mandate comes on the heels of repeated targeted drone and waterborne projectile strikes on merchant ships crossing the southern shipping lanes, which have severely tested localized naval safety protocols.</p><p data-path-to-node="6">The breaking point for federal maritime authorities occurred following a recent missile assault that directly compromised a high-capacity bulk vessel. Maritime records confirm that out of a combined multinational crew of 46 personnel logistically trapped aboard the impacted vessel, 30 were identified as active Indian nationals. While emergency defensive interceptors prevented immediate hull fragmentation or casualties, the close-range engagement highlighted severe vulnerabilities for merchant crews operating within weapon range of regional proxy groups.</p><p data-path-to-node="7">Effective immediately, all domestic crew manning companies, terminal operators, and licensed Recruitment and Placement Service (RPSL) agencies have been ordered to suspend active sign-ons for loops routing directly through the Strait of Hormuz and adjacent corridors. Ship management desks have been directed to re-route active seafarers around alternative long-haul oceanic links. Furthermore, the DGMA has ordered all active Indian-crewed hulls currently positioned in the upper Gulf zone to immediately register transit protocols with the Indian Navy’s Information Fusion Centre-Indian Ocean Region (IFC-IOR) and activate automated real-time positioning logs.</p><p data-path-to-node="8">"The structural preservation of our human capital at sea must override immediate commercial timeline metrics," stated a senior federal administrative official in New Delhi. "Until deepwater shipping paths undergo verified stabilization, Indian maritime labor cannot be exposed to active projectile chokepoints."</p>