India Raises Alarm Over Hormuz Firing Incident, Seeks Safe Passage for India-Bound Ships

New Delhi — The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) on Saturday expressed serious concern over a firing incident involving Indian-flagged vessels in the Strait of Hormuz and called on Iran to help ensure the safe passage of ships heading to India.

According to the MEA, Iran’s Ambassador to India, Mohammad Fathali, was summoned for a meeting with Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri after two Indian-flagged vessels, one reportedly a Very Large Crude Carrier (VLCC), came under fire from boats linked to Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC). Officials said the tanker and its crew are safe.

During the meeting, India stressed the importance it attaches to the safety of merchant shipping and seafarers. The Foreign Secretary also recalled that Iran had previously helped facilitate the safe passage of several India-bound vessels and urged Tehran to resume that process at the earliest.

The Iranian Ambassador assured that India’s concerns would be conveyed to the authorities in Iran.

Earlier in the day, the UK Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) Centre confirmed that a tanker and a container ship had come under attack from IRGC gunboats. In one incident, a tanker reported being approached by two IRGC boats and fired upon, though the vessel and crew remained unharmed. In a separate case, a container ship was hit by an unknown projectile, damaging several containers but causing no fire or environmental damage.

Meanwhile, Iran said on Saturday that control of the Strait of Hormuz had “reverted to its previous state” amid the continued US naval blockade of Iranian ports. A spokesman for Iran’s Khatam al-Anbia Central Headquarters, quoted by Tasnim news agency, said the strait remains under strict control and management by Iran’s armed forces.

He added that the situation would remain unchanged until restrictions on vessel movement were lifted by the United States.

Reports citing vessel-tracking data said several ships turned back while attempting to pass through the Strait of Hormuz on Saturday after Iran’s renewed control measures, with some vessels reversing course near Larak Island, a key monitoring point for maritime traffic.

With inputs from IANS