New Delhi: India on Wednesday deplored the escalating attacks on commercial shipping in West Asia after a Thai-flagged bulk carrier bound for Gujarat’s Kandla Port was targeted by Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC).
Three vessels were struck by projectiles in the Strait of Hormuz on Wednesday, according to the UK’s maritime agency.
The attacks choked the key energy transit route that carries 20 per cent of the world’s global crude oil shipments.
The Thai-flagged bulk carrier was reportedly struck by “two projectiles of unknown origin” while sailing through the Strait of Hormuz, triggering a fire and damaging the engine room, the ship’s Thai-listed operator, Precious Shipping, said in a statement.
“Three crew members are reported missing and believed to be trapped in the engine room,” Precious Shipping was quoted as saying by Reuters.
Later, Iran’s Revolutionary Guards said in a statement that they struck Mayuree Naree with Iranian projectiles. They confirmed that the Guard Corps fired at the Thai-flagged bulk vessel in the Strait of Hormuz.
The MEA said in a statement, “India deplores the fact that commercial shipping is being made a target of military attacks in the ongoing conflict in West Asia. Precious lives, including of Indian citizens, have already been lost in multiple such attacks in the earlier phase of this conflict, and the intensity and lethality of the attacks only seems to be increasing.
The ministry reiterated that targeting commercial ships and endangering the lives of civilian crew members should be avoided.
