Report suggests one of the ships fired at by Iran may have been bound for Gujarat
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Vessel-tracking data suggested that one of the three container ships fired upon by Iran in the Strait of Hormuz on Wednesday may have been headed to Gujarat.
According to maritime intelligence inputs, the Liberia-flagged Epaminondas was reportedly en route to Mundra port, while the Panama-flagged MSC Francesca had indicated Sri Lanka’s Hambantota as its destination, and the Panama-flagged Euphoria was said to be bound for Jeddah in Saudi Arabia.
The incident took place hours after Donald Trump stated that the United States would continue its blockade of Iranian ports, even as he announced an extension of the ceasefire with Tehran.
In recent days, US forces had reportedly intercepted Iranian vessels attempting to bypass the blockade, Scroll.in reported.
Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps said it opened fire on a vessel in the strait after it allegedly ignored warnings issued by Iranian forces.
Iranian state media later reported that MSC Francesca and Epaminondas had been seized off Iran’s coast, while Euphoria was subsequently grounded by the military.
Shipping data indicated that Mundra-bound Epaminondas had departed from Jebel Ali port in the United Arab Emirates on March 4 but remained stranded in the Persian Gulf amid escalating tensions, including Iran’s effective closure of the waterway during the conflict.
Earlier, Iran had briefly reopened the strait to commercial traffic following a temporary ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah, but later reinstated strict military controls, citing repeated breaches of trust by the US. Washington had initiated a blockade of Iranian Gulf ports on April 13.
These developments come amid uncertainty over future diplomatic engagement between Iran and the US, after an initial round of talks in Islamabad reportedly collapsed earlier this month.
In a related incident, two Indian vessels, Jag Arnav and Sanmar Herald, were said to have turned back from the strait recently, with reports indicating that Jag Arnav came under fire from the Iranian Navy, while the other vessel remained unharmed.
The Indian government subsequently lodged a protest against the firing with the Iranian Ambassador to India Mohammad Fathali.