NEW DELHI/MUMBAI: Thirty-eight Indian flagged ships, mostly carrying crude and LNG with nearly 1,100 seafarers, were stuck in the Persian Gulf on Tuesday amid the conflict in West Asia.
Shipping authorities here also confirmed the death of three Indian sailors and injury to one on board foreign-flagged vessels in “attacks” off the Oman port.
There are around 23,000 Indian seafarers on different ships in the conflict-hit region at any given time and their safety remains the government’s priority, officials said. India is the third largest supplier of seafarers after the Philippines and China.
Shipping minister Sarbananda Sonowal chaired a review meeting on Tuesday and directed officials, including DG Shipping, to take steps to ensure the safety and welfare of Indian seafarers as well as the security of maritime assets.
“There have been no confirmed instances of casualty, detention or boarding involving Indian-flagged vessels,” DG Shipping said in a statement.
The minister and officials were briefed by DG Shipping on the situation in the region, and on the status of Indian flagged ships and Indian seafarers. Officials informed the ministry that 24 ships are stranded west of Strait of Hormuz and another 14 in the east of the strait.
DG Shipping said there have been four reported incidents involving Indian seafarers in the region, resulting in three deaths and one injury. They were on foreign-flagged vessels, it said.
At least five tankers have been damaged since the conflict began and 150 ships are stranded around the strait.
The fresh tensions have also disrupted shipping routes, prompting several container lines to suspend services to West Asia and divert vessels via the Cape of Good Hope — a move that is adding to transit time, costs and congestion at Indian ports.
Sunil Vaswani, executive director of the Container Shipping Lines Association (India), said many lines have now suspended services to West Asia for safety reasons, while long-haul trade to the US, Europe and Mediterranean harbours will continue. “Services to long-haul destinations will continue. Those going through Suez have rerouted through the Cape of Good Hope. Transit time will be longer but safer,” he said, adding that deploying more vessels on longer routes will push up operational costs.
Vaswani flagged the immediate concern as cargo piling up at Indian ports. “Containers continue to come in, creating congestion. Ports are working with us,” he said. Port authorities confirmed that around 1,000 containers are currently stuck and that they are coordinating with shipping lines to ensure timely loading and unloading.
A shipping company official said vessels bound for the Gulf are being terminated at Fujairah, Sohar or Khor Fakkan, from where cargo is transported. Sohar to Dubai is around 170km, he added.
Exporter-supplier Sanjay Pansare said around 150 containers of bananas, pomegranates, watermelons and onions are currently stuck due to the disruption.
