One of three ships fired at by Iran may have been bound for Gujarat: Report

One of the three container ships at which Iran opened fire in the Strait of Hormuz on Wednesday may have been headed for Gujarat, PTI reported, citing vessel-tracking data from maritime intelligence firm MarineTraffic.

The data indicated that the container ship, Liberia-flagged Epaminondas, was en route to the Mundra port, while another vessel, Panama-flagged MSC Francesca, signalled that it was headed to the Sri Lankan port of Hambantota, The Indian Express reported.

The third vessel, Panama-flagged Euphoria, had indicated Jeddah in Saudi Arabia as its destination.

The three vessels were attacked by Iran hours after United States President Donald Trump on Tuesday said that the US’ blockade of Iranian ports would continue, even as he announced the extension of the ceasefire with Tehran. In the past few days, the US had seized some Iranian ships that were trying to slip through the blockade.

In this backdrop, Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps stated on Wednesday that it had opened fire on a ship in the Strait of Hormuz after it “ignored the warnings of the Iranian armed forces”, reported AP.

The MSC Francesca and the Epaminondas were “seized” off the coast of Iran, reported the Iranian state-owned news agency Tasnim. The Euphoria was also “grounded off the coast of Iran” by the military later.

The Indian Express cited MarineTraffic data as indicating that the Mundra-bound Epaminondas had departed...

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