Indian Navy's elite marine commandos on Friday rescued 21 crew members including 15 Indians from a bulk carrier in the North Arabian Sea and sanitised it in a swift operation while responding to an attempted hijacking of the Liberian-flagged vessel by around five-six armed personnel.
'Indians are basically liked because they are educated, they are intelligent.'
India's unabated tryst with Russian crude oil is slowly coming to an end. The time has come for Indian refiners to navigate, creatively, the choppy waters of the post-honeymoon period, and for Indian policymakers to take cognisance of the broader impact on India from the spillover of the Russian crisis - after Washington's warning to transgressors last week. Shipments from Russia to India have averaged over 1.8 million barrels a day since February, according to data from Paris-based market analytics firm Kpler. But much of the crude shipped to India was non-sanctioned because it traded below a price cap set by the US led G-7 nations in December.
Trump has a major decision to take in coming days -- specifically, how to rescue Israel from the attritional war that lies ahead, points out Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
Drivers of commercial vehicles, including trucks and tankers, stopped work in several states on Monday and blocked roads at some places to protest against the provision in the new penal law regarding hit-and-run accident cases involving motorists.
Indian Oil Corporation (IOC), the nation's largest oil firm, has renewed a deal to buy up to 2 million tonnes of crude oil in 2022 from Russia's Rosneft, the Russian oil producer said. IOC had in February 2020 signed a deal with Rosneft Oil Company to import up to 2 million tonnes of oil via the port of Novorossiysk. In 2021, the deal envisaged supply of up to 1.7 million tonnes of crude oil but IOC bought just on parcel or shipload as the cost of transporting the oil made it uneconomical, when compared to alternatives. For 2022, the deal is for the supply of up to 2 million tonnes of oil from the Black Sea port of Novorossiysk.
The Navy deployed a warship, maritime patrol aircraft P-8I, helicopters and and MQ9B Predator drones to assist the vessel, MV Lila Norfolk, after it sent a message on the UK Maritime Trade Operations portal, saying unknown armed personnel had boarded it on Thursday evening.
The Tatas, L&T and Bharat Forge expressed interest in building pressure swing adsorption oxygen plants at hospital sites, while IOC and RIL are pitching in with both oxygen and cryogenic tankers needed for its transportation.
'If attacks escalate, there is a risk the Suez Canal may be closed.'
The Indian Navy continues to monitor the situation very closely with all stakeholders and remains committed to ensuring the safety of merchant shipping in the region, it said in a statement.
Russia has welcomed India's decision to not support the price cap on Russian oil announced by G7 and its allies and offered it cooperation on leasing and building large-capacity ships to overcome the ban on insurance services and tanker chartering in the European Union and Britain to continue buying discounted oil. The offer came as Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak held a meeting with the Indian Ambassador to Moscow, Pavan Kapoor, on Friday. "The Deputy Prime Minister welcomed India's decision not to support the price cap on Russian oil, which was imposed on December 5 by the G7 countries and their allies," the Russian foreign ministry said in a statement.
A year after a Hamas attack against Israel on October 7 and the ensuing Israeli invasion of the Gaza Strip, India's trade with most West Asian countries has largely escaped any major disruption, except with countries like Israel, Lebanon, and Jordan. However, repeated flare-ups of geopolitical tensions in the region continue to drive up shipping and logistics costs.
The Indian Navy has deployed task groups comprising frontline destroyers and frigates in the central and north Arabian Sea and augmented its force levels in the region to undertake maritime security operations in view of recent attacks on commercial vessels in key shipping lanes.
Truck drivers protesting against a provision in the new penal law on hit-and-run road accidents, called off their strike in Nashik district of Maharashtra on Tuesday after the local authorities assured to look into their demands.
At least 10 people were charred to death and another 12 got injured when a gas tanker caught fire and exploded after being hit by a truck on a highway near Beelpur village, 35 kilometres from Jaipur, late Saturday night.
The mother of one of the Italian marines facing trial in India for killing two Indian fishermen on Sunday said justice has been done and "everything is fine now".
As of now, tankers carry petroleum products from India to Nepal as part of an arrangement which is in place since 1973.
A Ganesh Nadar visits the families of the two fishermen killed at sea by two Italian marines, who mistook them for pirates.
Italian oil tanker Enrica Lexie, detained off Kerala coast since February 15 after its Marines shot dead two Indian fishermen, on Saturday sailed off from Kochi for Colombo after completion of all legal formalities, including execution of a bond for Rs 3 crore.
The tankers carrying fuel from terminals to dealer outlets would not just have global positioning system (GPS) tracking but also an electronic key (e-key).
"It was a nightmare," said Hari C Nair, one of the 17 Indian sailors released by Somalian pirates after spending 11 months in captivity, recalled on Wednesday.
Singh said India has intensified patrolling of the seas after the recent attacks on merchant navy ships.
Tehran plans to lift exports by 500,000 barrels per day
The Indian Navy, which regards itself as the 'net security provider' in the Indian Ocean Region, has also stepped up to the plate, with a warship stationed at all times off the Gulf of Aden for counter-piracy tasks. 91 Indian warships have been deployed in the region since 2008, patrolling high risk areas where piracy was rampant.
Hundreds of Kashmir-bound stranded vehicles were given green signal on Tuesday afternoon after the roads were cleared for vehicular traffic.
India will need to travel back in time and seek inspiration from football greats Tulsidas Balaram and Chuni Goswami to deftly dribble around and sidestep the West-imposed price cap on exports of Russian seaborne crude oil. India depends on imported oil to meet 86 per cent of its needs, of which nearly a quarter now comes from Russia. The copious flows are roughly 10 per cent cheaper than competing suppliers helping India save billions of dollars in fuel costs.
Petrol pumps in many cities witnessed long queues on Tuesday as people came to fill up their vehicle tanks fearing shortage of fuel amid the protest by truck drivers against a provision in the new penal law on hit-and-run accident cases involving motorists.
Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan apprised Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and Home Minister Amit Shah about the fire and sought assistance for dousing it, an official said.
India's Iran imports rise to 276,800 bpd vs 195,600 bpd in 2013.
India plans to further cut imports from Iran by 13 per cent next fiscal even though easing of US and western sanctions has made buying crude oil from the Persian Gulf nation easier.
India also went on an overdrive in expanding its military engagement with like-minded countries in its neighbourhood and beyond in the face of China's relentless attempts to become a regional hegemon and establish its primacy in South Asia.
Minister of State for Shipping Pon Radhakrishnan said the vessel had more than 32,000 tonne of oil and has been emptied.
A Dornier aircraft of the Coast Guard, which flew over the area on Wednesday morning, found a 'thin oil sheen only 300 metres wide.
India is building its oil reserves in underground rock caverns and tanks
"We will be guided by our national interest," he said.
India's imports from Iran rose to 250,200 barrels per day
India has asked refiners that owe about $6.5 billion to Iran for oil imports to build up dollar and euro balances to avoid downward pressure on the rupee if six world powers and Tehran reach a final nuclear deal.
US sanctions against Iran kick in from November 4, which will block payment routes. Sources said India and Iran are discussing reverting to rupee trade after November 4.
