Kamal Ghorui
NEW DELHI: Indian-flagged ship Desh Garima, loaded with crude oil, crossed Strait of Hormuz on Saturday afternoon, while two others — Sanmar Herald and Jag Arnav — were fired at by Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) boats while transiting the conflict-hit sea route and turned back. There was no injury to any crew member.Desh Garima, the tenth Indian-flagged vessel to cross the strait, is heading to Mumbai port. Vessel details available on Maritime Traffic show that several Indian- and foreign-flagged ships destined for Indian ports are still waiting to cross the Hormuz strait. Official data show that 13 Indian vessels are in the Persian Gulf (to the west of Strait of Hormuz), six in Gulf of Oman (east of Hormuz), one in Gulf of Aden and three in Red Sea.As per the list of petroleum and natural gas ministry, 17 vessels have been identified for evacuation, which include four LPG carriers, three LNG carriers and 10 crude oil tankers. While three of these are Indian-flagged vessels, the remaining 14 are foreign-flagged ships.Similarly, the chemicals and fertilisers ministry has drawn up a list of another 16 ships for evacuation, including one Indian-flagged vessel (Jag Arnav), which was attacked by IRGC on Saturday.Officials said that as of Saturday, there are 499 Indian seafarers aboard Indian-flagged vessels in the Persian Gulf region — 343 to the west of Strait of Hormuz and 156 in the Gulf of Oman. So far, 2,487 seafarers have been evacuated by various shipping companies.
