Indian Tanker Escapes Gunfire Attack by Iranian Navy, Arrives Safely in Paradip Port

A commercial tanker bound for India, the MT Sanmar Herald, is reported to have successfully arrived in Paradip Port of Odisha after escaping an attack by gunfire while navigating in Middle Eastern waters. The ship which had navigated through the risky Strait of Hormuz was targeted by Iranian navy resulting in shrapnel damage. Despite suffering from a security breach in multiple directions, the ship has managed to sail through the treacherous Indian Ocean and deliver its fuel cargo. The trip of this ship commenced from Iraq, from where it carried about two million barrels of highly valuable crude oil Basrah Medium and Basrah Heavy destined for Indian refinery companies. In accordance with the information provided by the tracking system, this ship was not the only one that became a target during this unexpected surge; it was shot at along with another ship, the Indian-flagged Jag Annapurna, 24 hours after Iran declared the strategically important strait open for commercial shipping. According to maritime tracking systems, the hostile activities of the Iranian Navy compelled at least six more foreign tankers to halt or even turn around completely. Following the shooting incident, the captain ordered the ship to take evasive measures to save his crew and cargo worth millions of dollars. The ship made a strategic turn and changed the course, thus avoiding the hostile patrol boats. After going into the open waters, the tanker resumed its journey towards the Indian subcontinent. The geopolitical ramifications of the attack have led to immediate diplomatic tension between New Delhi and Tehran. Taking into account the very high risk for the civilian Indian seamen of traversing the Persian Gulf, the Ministry of External Affairs of India made it a point to summon the Iranian ambassador to express strong dissatisfaction and demand strict guarantees of safety for Indian merchant ships. The diplomatic tension emerges against the backdrop of vulnerability of international energy markets, due to increased military tensions in the region that drive up the costs and result in a great number of shipping fleets traveling to India losing their automatic tracking systems. Having managed to reach safely the Odisha coast, the MV Sanmar Herald positioned itself in an offshore anchorage zone around 22 kilometers from the facilities of the Paradip Port. It was established that the crew was not physically harmed by the gunfire. The marine engineers will be inspecting the damages to the hull of the ship prior to unloading nearly two million barrels of crude oil onto the facilities of the port.