India Condemns Attack On Thai Ship Bound For Gujarat

Photo: Reuters

India-West News Desk

NEW DELHI – India on March 11 condemned an attack on a Thai-flagged cargo vessel headed for Gujarat’s Kandla port after it was struck by an unidentified projectile in the Strait of Hormuz, triggering a fire and a rescue operation for most of the crew.

TheMinistry of External Affairs said the incident involved the ship Mayuree Naree, which was sailing toward Kandla when it was hit.

According to maritime security sources and ship-tracking data, the vessel was struck while passing through the waterway earlier in the day, about 11 nautical miles off Oman’s northern coast.

The impact caused a fire onboard the bulk carrier, which was later brought under control.

Thailand’s government confirmed that 20 of the 23 crew members were evacuated by the Omani navy during a rescue operation.

“India deplores the fact that commercial shipping is being made a target of military attacks in the ongoing conflict in West Asia,” the MEA said, adding that “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 government reiterated that civilian shipping and crew members must not be targeted.