Two Indian crew members on board the Togolese-flagged tanker MT Chiron 7 were injured after the tanker’s bridge was hit by shrapnel near the disputed Strait of Hormuz on Saturday, a report issued by the Directorate General of Shipping said on Monday.
The report said that the Chiron, which has 17 Indians among its 24-member crew, was not directly targeted in the incident. The Maritime Shipping Directorate’s report said that the two Indian sailors, Ankit Kumar and Sagar Chand, were slightly injured, in addition to the Egyptian citizen Ziad Taha. The directorate added that no deaths were reported, and that the crew, which includes two Egyptians, two Bangladeshis, a Pakistani, and an Iranian, is fine. Ship tracking websites showed that the ship is currently heading to Sharjah.
Shipping through the narrow strait, through which a fifth of the world’s oil and natural gas trade passes in peacetime, has been choked since the United States and Israel attacked Iran in late February. Iran closed the corridor while the United States blocked Iranian ports and intercepted ships linked to Iran
Last week, two foreign-flagged ships, with an Indian crew of 22 on board, came under fire from Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps boats. On April 18, two Indian-flagged ships, the Sanmar Herald and the Jag Arnav, were fired upon while transiting the Strait of Hormuz, causing the ships to turn back.
Ten other incidents involving foreign-flagged ships with Indian crew on board were reported.
