The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) on Saturday dismissed reports claiming that another Indian-crewed tanker had been attacked near the Strait of Hormuz. The ministry stated that it had spoken with the ship's master, who confirmed that all crew members were safe.
"We have spoken with the Master of the vessel Liaki Freedom, who has confirmed that all crew members are safe and that the reported information is false," ANI quoted an MEA spokesperson as saying.
The Forward Seamen's Union of India (FSUI), a global seafarers' organisation, also confirmed that no attack had taken place on the ship. In a clip shared by FSUI, an official is heard asking a Liaki Freedom crew member, "Sir, what happened to you? It's all OK?" to which the response comes, "All OK, all OK. Negative, no fire." An earlier post by the union had noted that the vessel was not responding.
Liaki Freedom is an oil and chemical tanker sailing under the flag of the Marshall Islands.
Background of Tensions
Since June 8, three vessels with Indian crew have been targeted by the US military, resulting in the deaths of three Indian sailors in the second incident on June 10. The third ship was attacked the following day. The US military has claimed the vessels were struck while attempting to breach a US-imposed naval blockade of Iran, in place since April 13. The blockade was introduced after Tehran effectively closed the Strait of Hormuz in early March, in response to US and Israeli strikes on February 28 that triggered the Middle East conflict.
Nearly 20% of global crude oil passes through the Strait of Hormuz, making it a critical maritime route.
Diplomatic Reactions
The MEA has twice summoned Jason Meeks, the US Chargé d'Affaires in New Delhi, to protest the targeting of Indian-crewed tankers. External affairs minister S Jaishankar also spoke with his US counterpart Marco Rubio, reiterating India's "strong protest" over the deaths of Indian sailors.
