27 Indian-flagged ships remain stranded in Persian Gulf, one starts moving: Government official

Of the 28 Indian-flagged ships in the Persian Gulf-Gulf of Oman region that had stopped moving with the start of the West Asia conflict on February 28, one oil tanker bound for Africa, Jag Prakash, has started moving at sea, a senior government official said on Friday (March 13, 2026).

Jag Prakash, an oil products tanker with a carrying capacity of 48,000 tonnes cargo and owned by Great Eastern Shipping Company, was among the four ships stranded east of the Strait of Hormuz. This means it did not have to cross the strait that the newly-elected Iranian Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei has said must remain closed. Jag Prakash loaded at Sohar port in Oman and its destination is Tanzania.

Iran-Israel war updates on March 13, 2026

Three more Indian-flagged cargo ships with 76 seafarers on board are still located in the Gulf of Oman, while the 24 ships inside the Persian Gulf west of the Strait of Hormuz continue to remain stranded, according to officials.

Shipping industry leaders have been expecting relief with possible indications from the government advising ships to move at sea after Prime Minister Narendra Modi spoke to Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian on March 12. But the government had said the same day that it was premature to expect Iran to allow Indian ships to cross the strait.

At a media briefing on Friday (March 13 2026), Rajesh Kumar Sinha, Special Secretary, Ministry of Shipping and Waterways, said there are 23,000 Indian nationals working in the Persian Gulf region on merchant ships, ports and offshore vessels. The Directorate General of Shipping is in constant touch with them and all relevant stakeholders, he said.

Four Indian sailors have been killed in attacks since the beginning of the war. On March 11, an Indian seafarer was killed when his ship, Safesea Vishnu, was attacked near Basra, Iraq, in what has been described as a suicide mission. The remaining 15 Indian crew members are reportedd to be safe. The owners of the vessel are based in New Jersey, U.S. and the ship carries the flag of Marshall Island, but the vessel is managed by Bravo Ship Management based in Chennai, India.

In the crosshairs

Crossing the volatile strait carries risks that shippers are unwilling to bear. When the conflict started, some 600 ships were reportedly stranded in the region because of fear of attacks.

Shenlong, the crude oil carrier carrying one million barrels of oil that docked in Mumbai on Wednesday (March 11), had crossed the strait on March 8. Reports have described the perilous journey it undertook to cross the strait in a region where GPS spoofing and jamming are commonly deployed as war tools. Such measures can confuse ships by giving false locations. The ship had apparently gone into “digital darkness” and used manual navigation to safely cross the strait.

When equipped with the Automatic Identification System (AIS) that identifies the vessel and can make the ship easy to track, it puts the carriers in danger of attacks, says Richard Meade, editor-in-chief of Lloyd’s List, a maritime information journal. “We have observed 77 transits across the Strait of Hormuz since March 1, half of whom were ‘shadow fleet’. Iranian ships carrying fuels continue to cross the strait. Seventeen were ‘dark transits’, which means the AIS of the ship was switched off, and some of them were mainstream fleet vessels such as Shenlong,” he said.

Though it would be expected that vessels affiliated with the U.S., Israel and Europe would be targeted by Iran, there has been no pattern in the 16 ships that have been attacked so far, he says. “This is unlike in the Red Sea where the Houthis targeted ships that had certain affiliations,” says Mr. Meade.

Exercise restraint

Meanwhile, the Union government has expressed concern over unverified reports about vessels operating in the Gulf region and the Strait of Hormuz being circulated across social media and messaging platforms.

In an advisory, the Directorate General of Shipping (DGS) said the circulation of unconfirmed and speculative information was causing unnecessary anxiety and distress among seafarers and their family members.

“Responsible communication will help prevent misinformation, reduce panic among seafarers and their families, and maintain confidence within the maritime community during this sensitive period,” the advisory issued a few days ago to maritime stakeholders and seafarers community said.

The DGS urged all maritime stakeholders, shipping companies, employee unions and individuals to exercise restraint and responsibility while sharing information related to maritime incidents or security developments in the Gulf region.

It underlined the need to refrain from forwarding or publishing unverified information and ensure that only authenticated updates from official sources and competent authorities were disseminated.

“The Directorate General of Shipping continues to closely monitor the situation in coordination with relevant authorities and working together with stakeholders to ensure that only accurate and verified information reaches the seafarer community,” the advisory said.

Published – March 13, 2026 10:59 pm IST