NEW DELHI: Half of the 10 ships attacked in the Strait of Hormuz and the Middle East in the first week of March this year, were bearing flags of the US, Gulf nations and European or British territories, an analysis of the data from the International Maritime Organization (IMO) has showed.
According to the IMO data accessed by TDG, between March 1 and March 7, there were 10 confirmed incidents in the Strait of Hormuz and the Middle East.
An analysis of the list of ships allegedly attacked by the Iranian forces shows that while one ship was bearing a USA flag, another was bearing a UAE flag while yet another was bearing a Bahraini flag.
The other ships attacked were bearing flags of Gibraltar (a British overseas territory), Malta (Europe), Panama (South America), Liberia and Palau. Two others were bearing flags of Marshall Islands (Micronesia).
The IMO data shows that the Iranian forces attacked the US-flagged Stena Imperative at Berth, Port of Bahrain killing one shipyard worker while injuring two other workers on March 4, a day after Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was killed in joint strikes by the US and Israel.
Gibraltar-flagged Hercules Star was attacked on the same day in the north west of Mina Saqr in the UAE when a total of four ships were confirmed to have been attacked by the IMO.
Bahrain flagged Somergai Namibe was attacked in the south east of Mubarak Al Kabeer in Kuwait on March 5 , UAE-flagged Mussafah 2 was attacked in the north of Oman on March 6 while Malta-flagged Safeen Prestige was attacked on March 4 in the north of Oman.
Panama-flagged Gold Oak was attacked in the east of Fujairah in the UAE on March 3, Palau-flagged Skylight was attacked on March 1 while Liberia flagged Arabia III was attacked on March 7 in Al Jubayl, Saudi Arabia. With no signs of tensions de-escalating in the region, The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), Iran’s paramilitary force, on Tuesday said that Iranian armed forces are waiting for the arrival of the US naval forces near the Strait of Hormuz with claiming that the outcome of the ongoing conflict is ultimately up to Tehran.
Iran’s Major General Ali Mohammed Naeini warned that if strikes by the US and Israel continued, Iran “will not allow the export of a single litre of oil from the region.” At least three Indians are amongst those aboard foreign-flagged ships.
At least four Indians-all aboard ships with foreign flags- have so far been attacked in these incidents in the Strait of Hormuz and the Middle East so far.
One of the deceased includes Captain Ashish Kumar from Bihar who were aboard Skylight, the Palau-flagged ship which was attacked on March 1 in the north of Oman’s Khasab region while crew member Dilip Singh who was from Rajasthan, has been unaccounted for. Further, another Indian national Dixit Solanki, was killed when he was on board the Marshall Islands-flagged MKD Vyom which was attacked on March 1 in the north west of Oman’s Muscat.
On Tuesday, the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) Centre reported a total of 14 reports of incidents affecting vessels operating in and around the Arabian Gulf, Strait of Hormuz (SOH) and Gulf of Oman between February 28 and March 10.
Asper a DG Shipping situation report dated March 5, at least 66 Indian-flagged vessels were operating in the high-risk Persian Gulf region. This includes 24 vessels west of the Strait of Hormuz and 12 in the Gulf of Oman. Shipping stakeholders have been advised to maintain heightened vigilance and undertake thorough voyage-specific risk assessments before embarking on the journey while vessels operating in the region are being urged to ensure that they undertake enhanced security measures, maintain continuous communications readiness and report any suspicious activity immediately.