New Delhi: At least one Indian seafarer was among the crew of a vessel taken into custody by Iran in the latest maritime flare-up near the Strait of Hormuz. Mukesh Mangal, Additional Secretary in the Ministry of Ports, Shipping & Waterways, said at a news briefing that two of the three foreign-flagged commercial vessels fired upon by Iranian forces in the strait on April 22 had 22 Indian seafarers on board.
"All seafarers on board both the vessels are safe," he said. He added that there was no Indian on board the third ship.
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Iran captured two foreign container ships on April 22 that were trying to leave the strait and fired at a third, in response to what it described as a United States naval blockade of Iranian ports and the seizure of Iranian-flagged ships. Iranian guards boarded and took custody of Francesca and Epaminondas. Francesca had no Indian crew member on board, while Epaminondas had one Indian among its 21 crew members.
The third vessel, Euphoria, a Panama-flagged container ship, had 21 Indian seafarers onboard. "All of them are safe," said the Additional Secretary. Epaminondas also is a Panama-flagged container ship, and it too had one Indian seafarer onboard. "He is safe," he said.
Mangal said Epaminondas and Francesca were on the western side of the Persian Gulf, without directly saying they were in Iranian custody. Euphoria, with its 21 Indian seafarers, was on the eastern side, he said. A vessel on the western side of the strait, he explained, means it is in Iranian waters and under the control of Iranian guards, while a vessel on the eastern side means it has moved out of the war zone.
"Now you can make out which vessel is where," he said. When asked whether 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 that 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 before the incident. The firing came after the United States seized an Iranian commercial vessel in the Sea of Oman.
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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.
