Three Indians Safe After Oil Tanker Possibly Attacked, Minister Says
Sarbananda Sonowal, the Indian Minister for Ports, Shipping and Waterways said in a tweet on Wednesday that oil tanker NCC FAJR, "carrying 3 Indian seafarers, was involved in a possible attack while transiting the Strait of Hormuz".
Recommended For YouAll Indian nationals, along with the entire crew, are safe, he said.
Sonowal also added that they are "continuously monitoring" the situation. Authorities are also in contact with the ship management company to ensure the safety of seafarers, he affirmed.
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On November 10, a Liberia-flagged tanker carrying six Indian seafarers was hit by a projectile while transiting the Arabian Gulf.
One Indian national is among four crew members injured in the attack, Union Minister of Ports, Shipping and Waterways Sarbananda Sonowal said on Wednesday.
The minister said that the Indian national who suffered minor injuries has been safely taken ashore for further medical examination. The remaining 18 crew members, including the other 5 Indian seafarers, are safe and accounted for.
Iran's army said Wednesday that an oil tanker had struck a mine and caught fire in the Strait of Hormuz, where the country has been targeting ships that transit without its authorisation.
Since the outbreak of the Middle East war in late February, Tehran has heavily restricted traffic through the strategic waterway, insisting vessels use routes authorised by the Islamic republic.
The United States has in response imposed a naval blockade on Iranian ports and helped tankers travel the strait, which normally carries about one-fifth of global oil.
The American military recently claimed all mines had been cleared from the strait.
"Early this morning, a violating oil tanker caught fire after striking a naval mine in an unsafe, prohibited area in the east of the Strait of Hormuz," the naval forces of Iran's army said in a statement carried by state TV.
In recent weeks Tehran has made multiple announcements saying ships had caught fire in the strait, often claiming they struck mines.
US Central Command, which oversees US military operations in the region, has been escorting ships through the waterway and said last month that it had helped Gulf countries export 1.5 billion barrels of oil via Hormuz since the summer.
(With inputs from AFP)
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