New Delhi: At least one Indian seafarer was among the crew of a vessel taken into custody by Iran in the latest maritime escalation near the Strait of Hormuz.
Two of the three foreign-flagged commercial vessels fired upon by Iranian forces in the strait Wednesday had 22 Indian seafarers, Mukesh Mangal, Additional Secretary in Ministry of Ports, Shipping & Waterways, said at a news briefing.
“All seafarers on board both the vessels are safe,” he said.
There was no Indian on board the third ship.
Iran on Wednesday captured two foreign container ships seeking to exit the strait and fired at a third one, as retaliation to United States naval blockade of Iranian ports and capture of Iranian-flagged ships.
Iranian guards boarded and took custody of vessels Francesca and Epaminondas. While there is no Indian on Francesca, one Indian is among the 21 crew onboard Epaminondas.
The third vessel, Euphoria, a container ship flagged with Panama, has 21 Indian seafarers onboard. “All of them are safe,” he said.
Vessel Epaminondas, a container ship flagged with Panama has one Indian seafarer onboard. “He is safe,” he said.
Epaminondas has a crew of 21 members made up of mostly Ukrainians and Filipinos and was bound for India. There was one Indian seafarer on this ship.
“We have spoken to concerned authorities, and he (the Indian seafarer on Epaminondas) is safe,” Mangal said.
Epaminondas as also Francesca are on the western side of the Persian Gulf, he said without directly saying that they were in custody of Iranian guards.
The third vessel Euphoria, with 21 Indian seafarers, was on the eastern side, he said.
A vessel on western side of the strait means it is in Iranian waters and in control of Iranian guards, while the one on eastern side means it has sailed off the war zone.
“Now you can make out which vessel is where,” he said.
Asked if the ships taken over by Iranian guards had Indian seafarers, he said, “that you can make out on your own (from the vessel position).”
Tehran said the vessels had violated transit rules or ignored warnings, while maritime sources indicated at least one ship had prior clearance.
British maritime security firm Vanguard Tech said the container vessel that came under fire in the Strait of Hormuz was sailing under a Liberian flag and had been informed that it was authorised to transit the waterway.
Iran’s semi-official Tasnim news agency, however, reported that the vessel had ignored warnings issued by Iranian forces prior to the incident.
The firing followed the seizure of an Iranian commercial vessel by the United States in the Sea of Oman.
The IRGC accused Washington of violating the ceasefire and engaging in “armed piracy”, alleging that US forces had fired on the Iranian ship and disabled its navigation systems.
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