India bars seafarers from Strait of Hormuz voyages after attacks
Sign up now: Get insights on Asia's fast-moving developments
A flare-up in hostilities between Iran and the US has seen a spate of strikes on ships in recent days.
PHOTO: REUTERS
- India has banned its seafarers from working on vessels passing through the Strait of Hormuz due to increased attacks and security risks.
- The ban follows recent attacks in the area, including one that killed an Indian seafarer, amid rising Iran-US tensions.
- The Strait of Hormuz is a critical oil route, and India advises heightened security and monitoring until further notice.
AI generated
NEW DELHI – India has directed ship owners, ship managers and recruitment agencies to stop deploying the country’s seafarers on vessels going through the Strait of Hormuz following an upsurge in attacks.
Among the precautions, there should be no deployment of Indian seafarers on vessels undertaking voyages through the waterway “until further orders”, the Directorate-General of Shipping said in a post on social media platform X late on July 15.
A flare-up in hostilities between Iran and the US has seen a spate of strikes on ships in and around the waterway in recent days, including an attack that killed an Indian seafarer.
The International Maritime Organization has warned that the chokepoint remains too dangerous for commercial vessels at present.
Incidents “over the past few days have increased the risks faced by seafarers and commercial ships operating in the conflict-affected area significantly”, the directorate said in a statement attached to the post.
There are more than 310,000 Indian seafarers on merchant ships, making the country the second-largest supplier of sailors, according to an estimate by BIMCO, a trade association, and the International Chamber of Shipping.
India’s move echoes an earlier curb by the world’s top provider of seafarers, the Philippines, which asked agencies to stop sending its nationals to the Persian Gulf, exacerbating a staff shortage.
Manila later eased the restriction.
There should be “heightened security vigilance in the Persian Gulf, Strait of Hormuz and adjoining waters” with continuous monitoring of navigational warnings and security advisories, the directorate said in the post.
The Strait of Hormuz connects the Persian Gulf to global markets and used to carry about a fifth of the daily global oil supply in peacetime.
Control of the waterway is being contested by Tehran and Washington. BLOOMBERG
