New Delhi: India is weighing the option of escorting Indian-flagged vessels stuck in the crisis-hit Strait of Hormuz region, even as the conflict between the US-Israel alliance and Iran continues.
Movement of ships through the Strait of Hormuz – one of the world’s most critical oil routes – has been affected after Iran warned of attacks.
All 36 Indian-flagged vessels currently in and around the strait and adjoining waters are safe and have sufficient provisions on board, but none has been able to transit the area so far, PC Meena, deputy director general (crew) at the Directorate General of Shipping (DGS), said, as reported by Hindustan Times.
Meena heads the government’s core response team monitoring the situation.
The ships are complying with enhanced safety protocols, including more frequent reporting to authorities, it has been reported.
“Discussions are on at the highest level on various options to help them navigate out of the region safely including the option to escort India-flagged assets out of the area. Nothing has been finalised so far,” Meena said.
Iran’s Islamic Republican Guard Corps (IRGC) has threatened to attack tankers in the strait, the narrow waterway that carries a quarter of the world’s seaborne crude trade.
The core group under Meena has been tasked with
submitting situational reports at three-hour intervals along with “developments observed and the condition and location of affected seafarers”, the shipping ministry has ordered.
“There have been “no confirmed instances of casualty, detention, or boarding involving any Indian-flagged vessels”, a second official said, adding that monitoring and verification remain the key focus of efforts to maintain the safety at sea.
A notification of the DGS says that the mandatory safety protocols apply to Indian vessels not just in the Strait of Hormuz but also in the Gulf of Oman, the Persian Gulf and adjoining sea areas.
The protocols that came into effect around midnight of March 1, all Indian-flagged vessels must carry out ship-shore security drills as laid down by the International Maritime Organisation. These include live communication between ship and nearest port terminals as well as mock drills of threats such as piracy, unauthorised access and bomb threats.
Officials said that captains of Indian ships across the region are also required to fill out online ship reporting forms daily to the Information Fusion Centre-Indian Ocean Region as mandated by the latest protocols.
“This measure is critical for maintaining a comprehensive and up-to-date vessel database, which will facilitate easier tracking and coordination at the centre if the Indian Navy is required to respond to the incident,” a 2024 notification issued during Houthi attacks in the Red Sea and reinvoked on March 2 states.
If Indian merchant ships face any attack, they must “contact the nearest Indian Navy vessel and coalition warship using VHF Channel 16”, the crisis group’s March 2 advisory to shipping companies states.