With the Iran war escalating sharply and crisis deepening in the global energy market, India on Monday unveiled a coordinated plan to support exporters and shippers caught in the fallout.
The Indian government reports casualties among its seafarers due to the ongoing crisis in West Asia and outlines measures to ensure the safety and welfare of its maritime personnel.
Expanding the scope of hostilities, Zayed Port in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, was also targeted by missile strikes launched by Iran, according to a report by the Iranian state broadcaster, Press TV.
Italian oil tanker Enrica Lexie, from which gunshots were fired killing two Indian fishermen off Alappuzha, has been brought to Kochi early on Friday and police and coast guard personnel are questioning the crew.
The Kremlin has announced it will not disclose data on crude oil exports to India, citing concerns about 'ill-wishers'. This decision follows reports of increased Russian oil supplies to India and China amid geopolitical tensions.
"Labourers were working on the tanker when the blast took place. Soon, the tanker caught fire that killed five labourers and their bodies were charred. Two persons, who were seriously injured in the incident, were admitted to a local hospital," Bhavnagar SP Mahendrasinh Pawar told PTI.
The Liberian-flagged Smyrni, carrying 135,000 tons of oil, was seized off the coast of Oman, the company said, in new indications that Somali pirates are operating close to Indian shores.
Shares of Reliance Industries Limited (RIL) tumbled on Tuesday, posting its biggest single-day decline in 19 months, amid controversy over its purchase of Russian oil and profit-booking after recent gains.
US President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin discussed the Iran conflict and its impact on global energy supplies during a phone call.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi said he was "deeply saddened" by the bus accident in Saudi Arabia's Medinah, in which several Indian Umrah pilgrims are feared dead.
IRGC said vessels seeking to sail through the strategically critical Strait of Hormuz must obtain Iran's approval; otherwise, they could become targets of Iranian attacks.
Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) claims control of the Strait of Hormuz and reports striking a US destroyer, escalating tensions in the Middle East following retaliatory strikes between Iran, the US, and Israel.
Despite international crude oil rates crossing USD 100 per barrel due to Middle East tensions, the Indian government plans to maintain current petrol and diesel prices, ensuring uninterrupted fuel supply across the country.
The harrowing tragedy struck Pakistan's Punjab province on Sunday just a day before Eid celebrations when a tanker carrying 40,000 litres of petrol overturned and burst into flames as hundreds of villagers had gathered to collect the fuel spilled over on the highway at the Ahmedpur Sharqia area of the Bahawalpur district, some 400 km from Lahore.
What we are watching is something different: A fog manufactured and maintained by the people who started the war, so that the question of why it was started never has to be answered, observes Prem Panicker in his must read blog on the war in the Middle East.
Iran on Thursday spelled out three conditions to end the war with Israel and the United States, which entered its thirteenth day today. Taking to X, Iran's President Masoud Pezeshkian said he reaffirmed the country's commitment to peace during talks with leaders of Russia and Pakistan.
The grounded oil tanker drifted from Oman coast to the city's Juhu-Versova beach in July last year.
On December 17, heavily-armed pirates stormed a German oil tanker SP Brussels belonging to the Medallion Marine company. They went on to loot the ship and took hostage five Indian sailors.
Israel and the United States had a plan. Iran punched back. And now the Gulf is reeling, the world is beginning to feel the pain and, as on date, no one in Washington or Tel Aviv appears willing to admit that the punch has landed, notes Prem Panicker, continuing his must-read blog on the war in the Middle East.
An oil tanker with 37-member crew on board on Wednesday ran aground off the city coast under the impact of high velocity winds before the landfall of cyclone 'Nilam'.
Dozens of Indian-flagged ships and over a thousand seafarers are stranded in the Persian Gulf, Gulf of Oman, and surrounding areas due to the closure of the Strait of Hormuz amidst ongoing military actions involving the US, Israel, and Iran.
The Indian government has revised its natural gas allocation priorities, placing LPG production alongside CNG and piped cooking gas at the top, due to disruptions in imported gas supplies caused by the conflict in West Asia.
A spokesman for Gibraltar's government also confirmed that police proceedings against four members of the crew had ended.
Qatar has halted liquefied natural gas (LNG) production after its facilities came under attack amid the ongoing West Asia conflict, disrupting supplies to India and squeezing feedstock availability for key domestic sectors.
The US Department of the Treasury on Wednesday imposed sanctions on Russia's two largest oil companies, Rosneft and Lukoil, in an effort to pressure the Kremlin to end its war in Ukraine.
When everyone has footage and no one can verify it, the loudest voice wins, notes Prem Panicker who begins a daily blog on the War in the Middle East.
The United States carried out a covert drone strike on a port facility along Venezuela's coastline earlier this month, in what is believed to be the first known American attack on a target inside Venezuelan territory, CNN reported.
Whether Trump will actually press ahead with the oil sanctions remains unclear, since keeping Russian oil out of the world market risks high oil prices which could boomerang on the US economy and be damaging politically for Trump, points out Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
The US government, under President Trump, justifies the intervention as a security necessity rather than a resource grab. The primary official reasons include: narco-terrorism charges, national security and migration crisis.
Sanctioning Russian oil would have led to a sharp surge in oil prices to above $80 per barrel levels, which would impact pump prices in the US ahead of midterm elections next year.
'America is adopting the typical 'my way or the highway'/'Either you are with us or against us' stance.' 'This is a policy India is not going to accept.'
Putin argued that European countries are putting forward demands related to the conflict that Russia cannot accept. He further accused Europe of obstructing initiatives by the United States and President Donald Trump to pursue a negotiated settlement.
The US has sanctioned an Indian national based in the United Arab Emirates and two India-based entities for operating as part of Iran's shadow fleet and involved in shipping Iranian oil. The US Department of the Treasury said Jugwinder Singh Brar, who owns multiple shipping companies, operates as part of Iran's shadow fleet, which the US said is used to evade sanctions and transport Iranian oil. Brar also owns or controls India-based shipping company Global Tankers Private Limited and petrochemical sales company B and P Solutions Private Limited. The sanctions come as part of a US campaign of maximum pressure on Iran and target the country's petroleum and petrochemical sectors.
The Indian Navy on Saturday said its guided missile destroyer INS Visakhapatnam has deployed a team to help fire-fighting efforts on board British oil tanker MV Marlin Luanda which has got 22 Indian and one Bangladeshi crew members.
'Preliminary investigations suggest that the cause of the fires are small flying objects, possibly belonging to drones, that fell in the two areas. Teams from the competent authorities have been dispatched and the fire is currently being put out,' news reports said.
India's crude oil imports from Russia strengthened in the first half of October, reversing a three-month slide in arrivals seen during July-September as refineries were back on full stream to meet festive demand, according to ship tracking data.
An investigation into the disappearance of a merchant navy cadet off the Sri Lankan coast reveals his last known location and details of the search efforts.
The 2025 US National Security Strategy marks a major pullback, with America turning backward and effectively allowing China greater dominance in Asia. while long-time partners like India are left to face an increasingly unstable global order largely on their own, observes Rajeev Srinivasan.
Tips to avoid the heat, crowds, and travel risks, including incidents like the tragic Mufrihat accident that killed 45 Indian pilgrims.
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