NEW DELHI: The attack by Iranian forces on a Cyprus-flagged ship with Indian crew members Sunday has raised fresh concerns among shipping lines and seafarers’ organisations, while reigniting worries about disruption of supplies of fuel and fertiliser through the Strait of Hormuz.Though almost all India-bound ships – barring a few – have safely transited the strait, the renewed attack has heightened uncertainty over the movement of vessels from India to West Asia region to bring fresh consignments.Officials said maritime regulator DG Shipping is keeping a close watch on the developments and it may come out with a fresh advisory for seafarers. People keeping track of the movement of Indian and India-bound ships in the Persian Gulf said that there are around half a dozen Indian ships west of Hormuz, but most of these are working in that region and are not planned for immediate evacuation.They added that there are very few India-bound foreign ships in the Persian Gulf. “As of now, there is no plan to send any ship from this side. The flare up will further delay any such plan for the time being. No shipping line will take such a risk. While we were hopeful of normalcy returning, now it has been pushed back,” said an official tracking the development.While no official reaction was available from the petroleum ministry on the latest development and its likely impact, a senior official said that the ministry, along with oil refiners, was closely monitoring the situation. He added that there were enough stocks of crude oil, petroleum products and gas in the country, and cargoes had been tied up from countries in other parts of the world.“We are currently in a wait-and-watch situation. We hope that the movement of vessels will continue through the strait. This will not have any impact on energy supplies to India,” the official said, requesting anonymity.The impact of the fresh conflict on global crude oil prices will be known Monday when the market reopens.
