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Indian warship escorts Jag Laadki oil tanker out of Gulf of Oman
An Indian warship is escorting an Indian-flagged oil tanker out of the Gulf of Oman to the country’s west coast
An Indian warship is escorting an Indian-flagged oil tanker out of the Gulf of Oman to the country’s west coast after it sailed from the Fujairah port in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) amid the ongoing war in West Asia, officials aware of the matter said on Monday.
The vessel Jag Laadki, carrying 80,800 MT of crude oil, is the third Indian-flaggedfuel carrier heading towards India from the region since the start of the war, the officials said on condition of anonymity. It will reach Mundra port on Tuesday. Three Indian warships are currently deployed in the Gulf of Oman and oil tankers are headed to India under their watch, officials said.
To be sure, the oil tanker did not cross the Strait of Hormuz that is the centre of military tensions amid the war in West Asia. Jag Laadki was unharmed during a drone attack on Fujairah before it set sail for India, as reported by HT on Sunday. The tanker was loading crude oil at Fujairah when the port’s oil terminal was attacked.
Two Indian-flagged LPG carriers, Shivalik and Nanda Devi, with 92,712 metric tonnes of LPG, transited the Strait of Hormuz on Saturday. The first arrived at Mundra port in Gujarat on Monday, and the second is expected to reach India on Tuesday.
The Indian naval presence in the Gulf of Oman is maintained under Operation Sankalp, which predates the current military tensions in the region. In 2019, the navy deployed to the Gulf of Oman to reassure Indian-flagged vessels transiting through the Persian Gulf and Gulf of Oman following past maritime security incidents in the region.
The navy has not yet commented on its role in the region since the war broke out on February 28.
At any given time, one Indian warship has been carrying out round-the-clock anti-piracy patrols in the Gulf of Aden since October 23, 2008, to protect Indian sea-borne trade, instill confidence in the seafaring community and act as a deterrent for pirates.
India does not have a “blanket arrangement” with Iran for Indian-flagged ships to transit the Strait of Hormuz, and “every ship movement is an individual happening”, external affairs minister S Jaishankar has said.
In an interview with Financial Times in Brussels on Sunday, Jaishankar said talks with Iran on the safe passage of Indian vessels through the crucial waterway were “ongoing” and “yielding results”. He cited the negotiations, which have resulted in two Indian-flagged gas tankers passing through the strait on Saturday, as an example of what diplomacy could bring.
The US and Israel’s attack on Iran has effectively shut down the Strait of Hormuz, a critical passage for 20% of global crude supplies. Twenty two India-flagged vessels have also been stuck in the strait since the war broke out.
