Iran attacks India-bound ship hours after Trump extends ceasefire

Iran on Wednesday attacked a ship in the Strait of Hormuz that was on its way to Mundra Port in India, hours after US President Donald Trump announced an indefinite ceasefire. 

It was one of the two ships that the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Navy (IRGC-N) announced it had attacked and taken over, according to the government-run PressTV.

IRGC-N identified the ships it attacked as the MSC-Francesca, and the Epaminodas, PressTV said (although it spelled it as "Epaminodas").

Two shipping monitoring sites said that Liberian-flagged Epaminodas was on its way to Mundra in Gujarat from the Jebel Ali port in Dubai.

Marinetraffic.com and vesselfinder.com said that the container ship had been scheduled to reach Mundra on Thursday.

According to steamshipmutual.com which tracks ship ownership and insurance, the ship is owned by a Greek company, Kalmar Maritime LLC.

On Saturday, Iran attacked two Indian ships in the Strait that had received permission to traverse it.

India lodged a strong protest with Iran over those incidents.

IRGC-N said the two ships were attacked because they were "operating without authorisation", according to the government-run PressTV.

A British Navy monitoring outfit confirmed that two ships were fired upon by IRGC gunboats and that one of them reported being immobilised, and the other was damaged.

It did not confirm the Iranian claim by Iran that it had taken over the ships or identify them by name.

There was no immediate reaction from President Donald Trump or the US government.

Even though Trump extended the ceasefire indefinitely on Tuesday, he said the US Naval blockade of Iranian ports would continue.

While Tehran wants to control access to the Strait of Hormuz that empowers it in the conflict through a chokehold on the 20 per cent of global supplies of gas and oil that pass through it, it was also retaliation against the US capture of an Iranian ship on April 19.

President Trump said the Navy blew a hold in its engine room and Marines boarded it.

He claimed it had a "gift from China" for Iran, but Beijing has denied it.

The situation in the Strait of Hormuz also reflects the contradictions within the Tehran leadership between moderates and hardliners that hampers a unified response, and which Trump cited for extending the ceasefire.

Iran's Foreign Minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi announced on April 17 that the Strait was open, but on April 18 the IRGC ordered it closed and attacked the two Indian ships.

The Iranian military outfit accused the two ships of "tampering with navigation aid systems, and endangering maritime security in an attempt to exit the strait covertly".

Britain's UK Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) Centre, which tracks shipping incidents, said that a container ship reported that it was approached by an IRGC gunboat, which fired on it without a radio challenge.

It "has caused heavy damage to the bridge. No fires or environmental impact reported. All Crew reported safe," it added.

The other ship, a cargo carrier, did not report damage from the firing and the "crew are safe and accounted for," UKMTO said.

The IRGC-N claimed the MSC Francesca "belongs to the Israeli regime", however, the company Mediterranean Shipping Company is owned by a Greek shipping family.

A picture of the ship posted by Tasnim news agency showed it with a marking that it was registered in Panama.

Picture Courtesy: IANS