The “illegal” detention of MT Desh Shanti, crude oil vessel of the Shipping Corporation of India (SCI), has forced the shipping ministry to make a risk assessment of the situation. While the SCI is expecting the vessel to sail from Bandar Abbas in Iran on Friday, 20 Indian flagged ships are currently plying through the Persian Gulf. The shipping ministry is also trying to get a number on Iranian ships in Indian waters currently.
The Iranian Revolutionary Guards had on Tuesday detained the Indian vessel for allegedly causing pollution. MT Desh Shanti is a 10-year-old tanker, bringing crude oil from Iraq. “There was no oil leakage from the ship or any pollution problem. The ship should leave Iran on Friday,” a senior SCI official said.
Iranian vessels had been given blanket permission to sail in Indian waters after sanctions imposed by the European Union and the United Nations on Iranian crude imports made it nearly impossible for Indian vessels to get protection and indemnity cover. The latest development has taken the shipping industry by surprise. Most are reading this as a pressure tactic by Iran to discourage India from importing crude oil from other countries.
India had considerably brought down its crude purchases from Iran following the sanctions and the cargo, if at all, was being brought in Iranian vessels only. It is learnt the SCI’s ship had received the clearance from the port state control officer before leaving Iraq. “Ships get detained all the time but it is shocking that the Revolutionary Guards got on board. It is all very suspicious since the ship was not even in Iranian waters,” a senior executive of a shipping company who did not wish to be named, said.
Earlier this year, the SCI also decided to dissolve its joint venture with the Islamic Republic of Iran Shipping Line, Irano Hind Shipping. The SCI had 49 per cent stake in Irano Hind, while the Islamic Republic of Iran Shipping Line held 51 per cent stake in the venture. The joint venture was an outcome of a memorandum of understanding signed between India and the Iranian government in 1974. The purpose behind the partnership was to boost economic ties between the two countries.
