West Asia conflict | Indian casualties rise in attacks on ships in Persian Gulf

New Delhi: The number of mariners from India being killed in the conflict between Iran, on one side, and Israel and the United States, on the other, has gone up to three, as one more has been killed during an attack on an oil tanker near Basrah in Iraq.

Tehran denied reports about acceding to New Delhi’s request to ensure the safety and security of the merchant vessels heading towards India or owned by entities in India when they would sail through the Strait of Hormuz, a narrow sea-lane linking the Persian Gulf with the Gulf of Oman. Iran’s newly appointed Supreme Leader, Mojtaba Khamenei, however, said that the Persian Gulf nation would continue to block the critical maritime chokepoint, through which about a fifth of global oil supplies pass.

India joined 134 other nations in co-sponsoring a resolution, which was adopted by the United Nations Security Council late on Wednesday and which denounced Iran’s attacks on Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Kuwait, Oman, Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates, as well as Jordan. The resolution also denounced Iran’s threats and actions to close, obstruct, or otherwise interfere with international navigation through the Strait of Hormuz, or threatening maritime security in the Bab Al Mandab, another critically important narrow strait, linking the Red Sea with the Gulf of Aden.

Meanwhile, Liberia-flagged Shenlong, carrying around one million barrels of crude oil from Saudi Arabia, arrived at a port in Mumbai on Wednesday, after safely sailing through the Strait of Hormuz. Another oil tanker with around 2 million barrels of crude from Iraq too sailed through the conflict zone and was on its way to Paradip in Odisha.

A US-owned crude oil tanker, Safesea Vishnu, which was sailing under the Marshall Islands flag, came under attack in the Persian Gulf off Basra in Iraq late on Wednesday, resulting in the death of one of 16 Indian mariners who were onboard the ship. The remaining 15 members of the crew have since been evacuated to a safe place, according to the Embassy of India in Baghdad. New Delhi’s diplomatic mission in Baghdad is in regular contact with the authorities in Iraq and extending all possible assistance to the rescued Indians, stated the MEA.

Two Indian mariners had been killed in attacks on two other merchant vessels – Skylight and MKD Vyom – in the Gulf of Oman earlier this month.

Tehran, according to the sources, informally conveyed to New Delhi on Wednesday, only the merchant vessels, not linked with or financially beneficial to Israel or the US, could be allowed to pass through the Strait of Hormuz on a case-by-case basis. What, however, added to the uncertainty over the movement of oil tankers and other cargo ships was the statement of Mojtaba Khamenei, who was appointed as the Supreme Leader of Iran after the killing of his father, Ayatollah Khamenei, in an Israeli-US missile strike on February 28.

External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar and Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi of Iran had three phone calls in the last few days. They discussed issues related to the safety of shipping and energy security of India in the wake of the situation in West Asia, Randhir Jaiswal, the spokesperson of the Ministry of External Affairs, said. “Beyond that, it would be premature for me to say anything,” he said, declining to categorically confirm or deny if New Delhi could secure any security guarantee from Iran for the merchant vessels passing through the Strait of Hormuz.

Close to half of India’s crude oil imports, nearly 2.5 million barrels per day, as well as a sizeable share of its liquefied natural gas and liquefied petroleum gas supplies, are typically transported through the Strait of Hormuz. The security uncertainty around the narrow shipping lane in the Persian Gulf due to the escalating conflict triggered fears about the disruption of energy supply from Saudi Arabia, Iraq, Kuwait and the United Arab Emirates to the South Asian country.

As many as 28 Indian flagged vessels are operating in the Persian Gulf region, and 24 of them, with 677 Indian seafarers, are located west of the Strait of Hormuz, and four vessels, with 101 Indian seafarers, are on the east of the strait, Rajesh Kumar Singh, Special Secretary of the Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Waterways, told journalists. Seventy-eight Indian seafarers were on the foreign vessels that came under attack and, of them, 70 remained unhurt. “Four sustained injuries over the last few days, but are stable. “Unfortunately, there have been three casualties, and one seafarer is missing.”