A 38-year-old vice-captain in the Merchant Navy from Rajasthan's Sriganganagar district is among 21 crew members stranded after Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) seized the Liberia-flagged container ship Epaminodas in the Strait of Hormuz on Wednesday.
Incident Details
The vessel was heading to Mundra Port in Gujarat when it was intercepted by the IRGC. Sanjay Mahar, a resident of Sadbhavana Nagar in Sriganganagar, said Iranian forces opened fire as the ship began crossing the strait at around 8am. "We all went inside after the firing. There are a total of 21 crew members on board," Mahar said in a video shared from the ship on Thursday.
Crew Background
Mahar said he had left home for Saudi Arabia 20 days ago and has worked in the Merchant Navy for 15 years. He mentioned that the ship had been anchored near the Strait of Hormuz for three to four days awaiting clearance before proceeding toward India. The crew includes nationals from the Philippines, Ukraine, Sri Lanka, and India.
IRGC Statement
The ship's navigation system had been tampered with, creating a threat to maritime security, AFP quoted the IRGC as saying in a statement. The IRGC said it intercepted the vessel, seized it, and escorted it toward the Iranian coast.
