One of three ships fired at by Iran may have been bound for Gujarat: Report

One of the three container ships at which Iran opened fire in the Strait of Hormuz on Wednesday may have been headed for Gujarat, PTI reported, citing vessel-tracking data from maritime intelligence firm MarineTraffic.

The data indicated that the container ship, Liberia-flagged Epaminondas, was en route to the Mundra port, while another vessel, Panama-flagged MSC Francesca, signalled that it was headed to the Sri Lankan port of Hambantota, The Indian Express reported.

The third vessel, Panama-flagged Euphoria, had indicated Jeddah in Saudi Arabia as its destination.

The three vessels were attacked by Iran hours after United States President Donald Trump on Tuesday said that the US’ blockade of Iranian ports would continue, even as he announced the extension of the ceasefire with Tehran. In the past few days, the US had seized some Iranian ships that were trying to slip through the blockade.

Against this backdrop, Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps stated on Wednesday that it had opened fire on a ship in the Strait of Hormuz after it “ignored the warnings of the Iranian armed forces”, reported AP.

The MSC Francesca and the Epaminondas were “seized” off the coast of Iran, reported the Iranian state-owned news agency Tasnim. The Euphoria was also “grounded off the coast of Iran” by the military later.

The Indian Express cited MarineTraffic data as indicating that the Mundra-bound Epaminondas had departed from the United Arab Emirates’ Jabel Ali port on March 4, but had since been stuck in the Persian Gulf as the West Asia war led to Iran effectively closing the Strait of Hormuz.

The container ship is managed and operated by Greece-based companies, the newspaper quoted international shipping data as saying.

On April 17, Iran had fully reopened the strait to commercial vessels after a 10-day ceasefire between Israel and Iran-backed militant group Hezbollah in Lebanon. A day later, however, Iran had said it was reimposing strict military controls on the waterway, alleging “repeated breaches of trust” by the US.

Washington began blockading all ports in the Iranian gulf region on April 13.

The developments come amid continuing uncertainty over whether fresh talks between Iran and the US will take place. An initial round of peace talks between Iran and the US in Islamabad collapsed on April 12.

Last week, reports had said that two Indian vessels, Jag Arnav and Sanmar Herald, were forced to turn back from the strait. Jag Arnav was reportedly fired upon by the Iranian Navy while Sanmar Herald, which was in the vicinity, was not harmed.

The Indian government lodged a protest against the firing with the Iranian Ambassador to India Mohammad Fathali.

The war

The US and Israel launched an attack on Iran on February 28, claiming that Tehran’s action posed an existential threat to Israel. Washington acts as a guarantor of Israel’s security. Iran retaliated by striking Israel and US military bases in the region and targeting major cities in Gulf countries.

Tehran also effectively blocked the Strait of Hormuz, the narrow waterbody connecting the Gulf to the Arabian Sea, for most international commercial vessels, triggering a global energy crisis. About 20% of global petroleum supply passes through the maritime chokepoint.

Israel has been claiming that Iran is close to obtaining a nuclear weapon, which could alter the regional security balance. Tehran has long maintained that its nuclear programme is for civilian purposes.