Govt rejects claims Indian oil tanker fired at by Iran had paid to cross Hormuz

Sanmar Herald was one of the two India-flagged ships that came under Iranian navy gunfire on Saturday after the IRGC suddenly announced that it won’t let merchant vessels pass through the Strait of Hormuz. Just a day earlier, Iran had announced that the Strait would be completely open for commercial vessels for the remainder of the US-Iran ceasefire.

According to shipping industry insiders, confusion created by the sudden closure of the Strait—at a time when numerous vessels had lined up to cross it—could have been a major factor in the incident.

“We spoke with the owner of the vessel and he confirmed that it is fake news, and no such incident (of making a payment to cross the Strait) had happened,” Mangal said. Sanmar Herald belongs to Chennai-based Sanmar Shipping. The other India-flagged vassel that came under Iranian fire was bulk carrier Jag Arnav, which is owned by Mumbai-based Great Eastern Shipping Company.

“As we have been telling the past also, we don’t have any news, any data, any confirmation that any of our vessel has paid money to any of the authorities for this purpose. Now, suddenly there is a fake news circulating on (social media platform) X and all, that the captain of this vessel has paid money…and that it was paid to some cyber criminals, and then suddenly this firing happened,” Mangal said, adding that the government assesses the situation and only then asks the stranded Indian vessels to start sailing to cross the Strait of Hormuz.

Ever since the West Asia war began, Iran has been effectively regulating the flow of maritime traffic through the Strait of Hormuz, with reports indicating that some vessels had to pay a toll or fee to the IRGC to exit the Persian Gulf. There are now reports that shipping companies, whose vessels are stranded in the region, are getting messages from scammers claiming to be Iranian authorities, and promising fake safe passage in exchange for payments. According to maritime risk services company Marisk, at least one ship fell prey to the scam and was fired upon.

In a recording of the transmission from Sanmar Herald’s captain to the IRGC navy, he can be heard saying that he has permission to cross the Strait. “This is motor vessel Sanmar Herald. You gave me clearance to go, my name is second on your list… You are firing now. Let me turn back,” the ship’s captain can be heard saying as the tanker came under fire.

The Indian government has stated on multiple occasions that none of the Indian vessels have paid any toll to cross the Strait. India continues to engage with Iran at the diplomatic level to ensure safe passage for Indian ships stranded in the Persian Gulf. The efforts have led to 10 Indian ships having returned from the Persian Gulf since early March. Another 14 Indian vessels are still stranded there. The last Indian ship to cross the Strait—oil tanker Desh Garima—did so on Saturday, sometime before Sanmar Herald and Jag Arnav came under fire. Apart from these two ships, at least two Indian vessels—oil tankers Desh Vaibhav and Desh Vibhor—aborted their attempt to cross the Strait and turned back to return to the Persian Gulf on Saturday.

Iran had said that the reversal of its decision to open the Strait of Hormuz was due to the US refusing to end the blockade of Iranian ports even as a fragile ceasefire was in place. The sudden U-turn by Iran on the status of the Strait led to confusion among ships that had lined up to cross the maritime chokepoint, which could have played a role in the incident of firing upon Indian ships.

Scores of commercial vessels with thousands of seafarers have been stuck in the Persian Gulf since the West Asia war began on February 28 as vessel movements through the Strait of Hormuz ground to a halt after warnings from Iran; a few ships had also come under attack. The Strait of Hormuz is among the world’s most critical chokepoints for energy supplies, and accounts for a fifth of global oil and liquefied natural gas (LNG) flows. For Iran, its ability to disrupt global trade and energy flows by effectively closing the Strait has proven to be its most potent weapon and bargaining chip in the West Asia war.