"Deplore targeting of commercial shipping": India on Hormuz ship attack

India on Wednesday deplored the escalating attacks on commercial shipping in West Asia after a Thai-flagged bulk carrier bound for Gujarat's Kandla Port was targeted by Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC). Three vessels were struck by projectiles in the Strait of Hormuz on Wednesday, according to the UK's maritime agency. The attacks choked the key energy transit route that carries 20 per cent of the world's global crude oil shipments. "We have seen reports about the attack on a Thai ship, Mayuree Naree, in the Strait of Hormuz on March 11. The ship was bound for Kandla in India," the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said. It said India "deplores the fact that commercial shipping is being made a target of military attacks in the ongoing conflict in West Asia". "Precious lives, including of Indian citizens, have already been lost in multiple such attacks in the earlier phase of this conflict and the intensity and lethality of the attacks only seems to be increasing," the MEA said in a statement. "India reiterates that targeting commercial shipping and endangering innocent civilian crew members, or otherwise impeding freedom of navigation and commerce, should be avoided," it said. Global oil and gas prices have surged after Iran virtually blocked the Strait of Hormuz. Like many other countries, India too has been reeling under a shortage of petroleum products, especially cooking gas, following the disruptions in the key energy route. India meets half of its 191 million standard cubic metres per day (mmscmd) of gas consumption through imports. With tanker movement through the Strait of Hormuz stalled, supply of about 60 mmscmd of gas from the Middle East has been disrupted.