The first oil tanker to reach India through the Strait of Hormuz after the conflict began in West Asia will return to the war-torn region after unloading a ship’s cargo of crude oil in Mumbai even as another ship that crossed the perilous waterway now approaches the Indian coast.
The crew of the Liberian-flagged ship “Xinlong”, which arrived in Mumbai on Wednesday after leaving the Ras Tanura terminal in Saudi Arabia on March 3, crossed the strait, overcoming the absence of electronic navigational equipment, relying on seamanship skills and pure courage.
In response to attacks by the United States and Israel on February 28, Iran struck commercial ships, both Chinese-owned and destined for China, and choked the transit of energy supplies through the Strait of Hormuz. Nearly a fifth of the world’s crude oil passes through the strait to enter or exit the Persian Gulf.
No signals were detected from the ship’s transponders and AIS, or automatic identification system, at some point during the voyage, a person familiar with the matter told HT on Wednesday.
An official from the Ministry of Shipping and crew members said the ship witnessed instances of spoofing, GPS and jamming during its transit.
Read also | India is in touch with Iran for safe passage of ships through the Strait of Hormuz
The ship’s captain, Mohali resident Sukshant Singh Sandhu, said on Wednesday that the ship lost GPS signals several times along the way, but he was lucky not to encounter any hostile attacks, “although there were many doubts.”
Navigating the ship without a GPS was a challenge, making the journey difficult, Second Officer Abhijit Alok said on Thursday. “We were lucky to arrive safely and happy that we were able to transport some vital resources (crude oil) to the country at a time when supplies are in short supply,” Alok said. “Captain Sandow is an experienced officer and knows how to navigate when there are no GPS signals; we sailed the same way it was done in the era when there were no signals – with secondary options.”
Alok added that they saw some fighter planes flying in the skies of Saudi Arabia but there was no military conflict.
On board the ship are 29 Indian, Pakistani and Filipino crew members.
The ship is scheduled to sail to Fujairah Port on Friday evening after delivering 1,35,335 metric tons of crude oil at Jawahar Dwip or Butcher Island, off the coast of Mumbai, according to the ship’s agent Jitendra Jadhav. The crude will then go to refineries in Mahul, east Mumbai.
Fujairah is located on the eastern coast of the United Arab Emirates, outside the Strait of Hormuz. But she was not immune to the conflict. Debris caused by the interception of a drone by the UAE Defense Forces led to a fire in Fujairah on March 9. Last week, the Fujairah oil storage terminal was hit by falling debris.
For now, the Shenlong crew is relieved to be in Mumbai after leaving the conflict zone.
Third Officer Usman Arshad, a Pakistani national and resident of Karachi, said: “We had a full supply of food. The crew and captain gave us great support. The captain assured us that we would be alerted during the emergency.”
Arshad added that his contract with the shipping company expires next month, “which gives me the appropriate time to take a vacation for at least four months to relieve stress.”
Another crew member, who requested to remain anonymous, said he “used to send messages to his family in India whenever possible and feels safe returning to the country.”
Meanwhile, another ship carrying crude oil, Smyrni, was arriving in Mumbai on March 14, Jadhav said.
