New Delhi: Amid ongoing conflicts in Middle East, the Iranian Navy guided an Indian oil tanker through the Strait of Hormuz recently. It allowed the Indian-flagged ship to pass on a pre-approved after India reached out to Tehran.
How Iranian Navy helped Indian oil tanker to pass through?
As per a report published in news agency Bloomberg, the ship was in contact with the Iranian navy by radio. Before helping the Indian oil tanker pass through, Iran noted down its flag, name, origin and destination ports, and the nationality of the crew members All ship members were Indians.
“It seems that Iran is allowing select vessels to transit Hormuz after verification which takes place during the ships’ transit inside Iranian waters. While ships are being allowed to transit, it is mostly only to the benefit of Iran,” Bloomberg quoted Martin Kelly, head of advisory at EOS Risk Group, as saying.
With escalating tensions, Iran recently announced that it would not allow ships to pass through Strait of Hormuz, resulting in a shortage and an increase of gas price across the globe. Apart from them, price of cooking oil and fertilizer have also gone up.
Notably, a large number of oil tankers pass through the Straight of Hormuz around the world. While there have been reports of deaths of sailors, there are reports of Iran mining the waterway. As per Bloomberg, before the ship entered the channel last week, the sailors prepared their life rafts. They were forced to remain in the Persian Gulf for nearly 10 days when the ship was informed that it had been granted permission for the transit.
22 countries urge Iran to reopen Strait of Hormuz
Meanwhile, 22 countries have urged Iran to reopen the Strait of Hormuz. Among the countries included United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, the UK, Germany, France, Japan, South Korea and Australia. “The effects of Iran’s actions will be felt by people in all parts of the world, especially the most vulnerable,” they said in a joint statement Saturday.