Two Indian ships allowed to pass through Strait of Hormuz amid Iran-US war
Two Indian-flagged ships are said to have been allowed to pass through the Strait of Hormuz amid Iran-US war, even as most vessels remain stranded over fears being caught in the crossfire that started on February 28.
Sources said the Indian ships began transiting safely through the Strait between Wednesday night and Thursday morning. An official statement on the matter is awaited.
This comes two days after a Liberian flagged tanker hauling Saudi Arabian crude, captained by an Indian, cleared the Strait of Hormuz and berthed at the port of Maharashtra’s Mumbai on Wednesday, becoming the first India-destined vessel to safely transit the waterway, where maritime traffic has all but halted since the US and Israel attacked Iran.
On Tuesday, external affairs minister S Jaishankar spoke to his Iranian counterpart Seyed Abbas Araghchi and discussed the latest developments in the conflict in West Asia.
As the military confrontation between the US and Iran rages on for almost two weeks now, Strait of Hormuz, a strategic oil passage, has emerged to be a flashpoint between the two sides with Iran taking control of it and the US contesting the claim.
Ship transit has mostly remained halted since the US-Israeli strikes on Iran sparked latter’s retaliation.
The passage to Indian vessels come amid Iran intensifying its offensive over the Strait of Hormuz and issuing a stern warning, asking the ships passing through the the stretch to seek its approval to use the passage or face attack.