One of three ships fired at by Iran may have been bound for Gujarat, data says

One of the three commercial vessels fired upon by Iranian forces in the Strait of Hormuz on Wednesday may have been headed for Gujarat, according to initial shipping data.

Iran's Revolutionary Guards opened fire on the vessels as they transited the strategic waterway, with two ships later seized and at least one sustaining damage, though no casualties were reported.

According to vessel-tracking data from maritime intelligence firm MarineTraffic, container ship Epaminondas was signalling Mundra port in Gujarat as its destination.

An update said that the ship is sailing under the flag of Liberia and 'is currently located in the Oman Gulf'.

The data also showed that MSC Francesca, another vessel, was indicating Hambantota port in Sri Lanka, while a third container ship, Euphoria, was showing Jeddah as its destination.

Tehran said that the vessels had violated transit rules or ignored warnings, whereas maritime sources indicated that at least one ship had prior clearance.

At an inter-ministerial briefing on recent developments in West Asia, Mukesh Mangal, Additional Secretary in the Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Waterways, said last week that two Indian vessels attempting to cross the strait were fired upon and had to make a retreat.

He said that despite this, an Indian-flagged crude tanker, Desh Garima, safely transited the Strait of Hormuz on April 18 and is expected to reach Mumbai on Wednesday.

The Shipping Corporation of India (SCI) tanker is the 10th India-flagged vessel to have crossed the strait since early March.

Mangal said that there are 13 Indian flaged vessels and one Indian owned vessel stranded in the Persian Gulf currently.

Iranian media quoted the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) as saying that the three vessels had violated maritime regulations and entered the strategic waterway without coordination.

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, British maritime security firm Vanguard Tech said.

However, Iranian media reported that the vessel had ignored warnings issued by Iranian forces prior to the firing.

(With PTI inputs)