India, May 15 -- Three foreign crew members - one from Pakistan and two from Syria - aboard a commercial cargo ship that docked at Karwar harbour earlier this week were not permitted to disembark on Indian soil, officials said.

The ship, owned by an Iraqi company and carrying a consignment of bitumen from Iraq, arrived at Karwar port on May 11 night and departed on May 14 afternoon. It had 16 crew members, including 13 Indians and three foreign nationals - two Syrians and one Pakistani. The vessel was captained by an Indian national.

Karwar Harbour station police inspector Nischal Kumar told reporters on Thursday that authorities were alerted to the presence of the Pakistani and Syrian nationals aboard the vessel two days prior to its a...