Union Minister for Ports, Shipping and Waterways, Sarbananda Sonowal, on Monday chaired a meeting in New Delhi to review the conflict between Iran and US-Israel forces, and its impact on Indian maritime assets and personnel.
He was briefed by the Director General of Shipping on the prevailing situation in the Gulf, which continues to spiral out of control as both sides refuse to back down, especially after the assassination of Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, and more than 30 of Iran’s senior administrative officials.
“We are closely monitoring the evolving situation and have activated all necessary precautionary, monitoring and coordination mechanisms to ensure the safety and welfare of our seafarers and the security of our maritime assets,” Sonowal said in a statement.
Iran also closed the Hormuz Strait earlier this week, making the Gulf of Hormuz an extremely volatile region, sending oil prices soaring, and threatening energy security worldwide.
“We remain in constant touch with relevant national and international agencies and are prepared to respond swiftly to any emerging development,” he added.
In that regard, the shipping ministry is closely coordinating with the Directorate General of Shipping (DGS), the Indian Navy, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA), the Information Fusion Centre-Indian Ocean Region (IFC-IOR), the Maritime Rescue Coordination Centre (MRCC), and Indian missions abroad.
Through these collaborations, the shipping ministry has begun enhanced real-time tracking of Indian-flagged vessels, has prescribed mandatory reporting protocols and helplines for vessels, owners, and managing companies, and has also set up a dedicated Quick Response Team.
The situation has been further complicated after the US on Wednesday confirmed its role in torpedoing the IRIS Dena, an Iranian warship off the coast of Sri Lanka—an area of the Indian Ocean under India’s sphere of influence.
To make matters worse, the Moudge-class frigate had been India’s guest at the International Fleet Review (IFR) 2026, hosted by the Indian Navy in Visakhapatnam just two weeks ago, after which it was returning home when it was attacked.
For more maritime and shipping news and views, visit: Maritime, Ahoy!