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'Baseless': India on reports claiming Iranian vessels seized, exchange sought
Reuters reported on Monday that India had seized Iranian tankers alleging they had altered their identities and were involved in illegal ship-to-ship transfers.
India on Tuesday denied reports that claimed that Iran has asked for the exchange of three tankers seized by it in exchange for permitting the safe passage of Indian-flagged or India-bound ships from the Strait of Hormuz, the key waterway closed off since the US-Israeli strikes triggered the West Asia conflict.
Reuters, citing three sources with knowledge of the matter, reported on Monday that India had earlier seized those tankers alleging they had concealed or altered their identities and were involved in illegal ship-to-ship transfers at sea.
The report mentioned that Indian authorities seized the tankers Asphalt Star, Al Jafzia and Stellar Ruby.
Calling the reports baseless, Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal on Tuesday said there has been “no discussion of this nature”. “The three vessels are anyway not Iranian owned, neither are there any Iranian vessels,” he said in a inter-ministerial press briefing.
Later in the press conference, Jaiswal added, “Many of our ships are still stuck in Strait of Hormuz. We plan to have talks with Iran and other countries so that those vessels can be brought back home safely.”
The report cited a police complaint filed by the Indian Coast Guard on February 15 and mentioned that Asphalt Star was involved in the smuggling of heavy fuel oil that was transferred to Al Jafzia and bitumen to Stellar Ruby. All three are currently docked off Mumbai, it said.
India in talks with Iran
Jaiswal also said that India is in talks with Iran and other countries as many ships still remain in the Strait of Hormuz, the key waterway through which more than 20 per cent of world's oil and liquefied natural gas flow.
"We are in talks with Iran and other countries. As our Special Secretary mentioned, many ships are still there in the Strait of Hormuz area. It is our intention to work with Iran and other countries to bring those ships back home safely. This is our objective. Discussions are ongoing on this issue. Regarding humanitarian aid, we are in talks with Iran on a number of issues," Jaiswal said.
Amid the chokehold on Strait of Hormuz due to the exchange of drones and missiles between US-Israel and Iran, Indian LPG carrier Nanda Devi on Tuesday arrived at the Vadinar port in Gujarat's Jamnagar, carrying 46,500 metric tonnes of liquefied petroleum gas for ship-to-ship transfer at the anchorage.
On Saturday, the government had said that two Indian-flagged vessels carrying Liquified Petroleum Gas (LPG), Nanda Devi and Shivalik, crossed the Strait of Hormuz safely and are expected to reach India by next week. While Nanda Devi anchored on Tuesday, Shivalik reached India on Monday.
With Shivalik and Nanda Devi back home, there are now 22 Indian-flagged vessels remaining in the Persian Gulf, carrying a total of 611 seafarers, according to the figures given by the government on Saturday.
