Indian tankers shot at by Iran Navy, evokes strong reaction from New Delhi

The vessels — Jag Arnav and Sanmar Herald — came under direct attack, raising fresh concerns over maritime security in the region.

Updated on: Apr 19, 2026, 03:07:05 IST

By Shishir Gupta

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Two Indian vessels, including a large crude oil tanker carrying about two million barrels of Iraqi oil, were on Saturday fired upon by the Iran Navy north of Oman, people aware of the matter said, shortly after reports emerged that the Indian ships were forced to turn back from the Strait of Hormuz.

Two vessels, Jag Arnav and Sanmar Herald, were involved in the incident.

The vessels — Jag Arnav and Sanmar Herald— came under direct attack, raising fresh concerns over maritime security in the region. “Both vessels were fired upon,” an official said. Iran has previously said that countries not involved in the conflict with the US and Israel will not be targeted.

The development has led to a strong protest from India's foreign ministry, with New Delhi summoning the Iranian envoy over the matter.

The Indian Navy is trying to ascertain details of the incident as there is no Indian Navy ship in the Straits of Hormuz, they added. India has two destroyers, one frigate and one tanker in the Gulf of Oman.

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There were no injuries reported after the incident. A strong protest has been lodged by India, with the joint secretary asking the Iranian envoy to explain why the firing took place.

According to Marine Traffic, Jag Arnav, bulk carrier sailing under the flag of India, was travelling from Al Jubail in Saudi Arabia and was en route India.

Bulk carrier Jag Arnav was sailing under the flag of India. (Marine Traffic)

Meanwhile, the second ship, Sanmar Herald, was enroute to India, carrying crude oil from Iraq.

Sanmar Herald was carrying crude oil from Iraq. (Marine Traffic)

The officials said that India is taking the firing by Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps seriously and the country stands for open and free navigation in the Strait of Hormuz.

The Strait of Hormuz, located between Iran and Oman, is one of the world's most vital oil transit corridors, through which 20% share of global crude shipments passes.

India is among the countries with the highest number of vessels passing through the strait, reflecting its dependence on energy imports from the Gulf region.

Iran has, amid the war with the US, listed India among friendly nations whose ships it is allowing to cross through the vital strait while keeping others halted with threats of drone-missile attack.

Also Read: MEA summons Iranian envoy after Indian-flagged tanker shot at near Strait of Hormuz

The attacks come even as Iran announced temporary reopening of the Strait of Hormuz on Friday after a US-brokered 10-day ceasefire agreement on Thursday between Israel and Lebanon.

Maritime trackers even showed a convoy of eight tankers transiting the strait in the first major movement of ships since the US-Israeli war on Iran began seven weeks ago.

US President Donald Trump on Friday said Iran had agreed to open the strait, while Iranian officials said they wanted the US to fully lift its blockade of Iranian tankers.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Shishir Gupta
Shishir Gupta is Executive Editor at Hindustan Times and one of India's top journalists covering national security, strategic affairs, foreign policy and geopolitics. Over the past three decades, he has extensively reported on India's military, diplomatic and security landscape, covering every major conflict and national security challenge, from the 1999 Kargil War and the 2020 East Ladakh standoff to Operation Sindoor in 2025. He has also covered major terror attacks, including the IC-814 hijacking, the 26/11 Mumbai attacks and the 2025 Pahalgam terror strike, along with numerous Pakistan-backed terrorist incidents in the Kashmir Valley and across India. He has reported on national and state elections for more than three decades. A recognised authority on strategic affairs, Gupta has covered India's nuclear programme since the Pokhran-II (Shakti series) tests in May 1998 and has written extensively on global nuclear issues, Indian diplomacy and the country's expanding global outreach. He has also reported widely on international conflicts and terrorism, with a special focus on the Indian subcontinent. Gupta has interviewed Prime Minister Narendra Modi more than four times, including Modi's first interview with the print media after becoming Prime Minister in May 2014. His other interviews include three with the Dalai Lama, as well as conversations with Benjamin Netanyahu, Amit Shah, Yogi Adityanath, S. Jaishankar, Nirmala Sitharaman and Piyush Goyal. He is the author of Indian Mujahideen: The Enemy Within (Hachette, 2011) and Himalayan Face-off: Chinese Assertion and Indian Riposte (Hachette, 2014). He was awarded the Chevening-Wolfson Joint Scholarship at Wolfson College, University of Cambridge, UK, in 1998 and participated in the International Visitor Leadership Program (IVLP) of the US State Department in 2006. He received the Ben Gurion Prize from Israel in 2011 and the K. Subrahmanyam Prize for Strategic Studies in 2015 from the Manohar Parrikar Institute for Defence Studies and Analyses (MP-IDSA). Since 2024, he has hosted Point Blank, Hindustan Times' weekly YouTube show on global geopolitics.Read More

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