Wednesday 06 / May / 2026
New Delhi: Opesh Kumar Sharma, Director of Shipping at the Ministry of Ports, Shipping, and Waterways, said on Wednesday that all Indian seafarers continue to be safe in the region, and no incident involving an Indian-flagged vessel has been reported since the last briefing in the past 48 hours.
Sharma, while speaking at an Inter-Ministerial Briefing on Recent Developments in West Asia, said that the Ministry has facilitated the safe repatriation of more than 2,999 seafarers, including 23 in the last 48 hours from the Gulf.
"The Ministry of Ports, Shipping, and Waterways continues to coordinate with the Ministry of External Affairs, Indian missions, and maritime stakeholders to ensure seafarer welfare and uninterrupted maritime operations. I am happy to state that all Indian seafarers continue to be safe in the region, and no incident involving an Indian-flagged vessel has been reported since the last briefing in the past 48 hours. No incident has also been reported on any foreign-flagged vessels carrying Indian seafarers," he said.
"The control room set up at DG Shipping has handled 8,570 calls and more than 18,732 emails. In the past 48 hours, a total of 156 calls and 668 emails have been received. The Ministry, through the Directorate General of Shipping, has facilitated the safe repatriation of more than 2,999 seafarers, including 23 in the last 48 hours, from various locations across the Gulf region. Port operations across India remain normal, and no congestion has been reported," he added.
Sharma was asked about India's views on the United States Secretary of State Marco Rubio's comments about the offensive part of the operation, which is Epic Fury, and the fact that they are testing for a kind of fragile ceasefire.
Sharma answered, "Operation Epic Fury--I don't think I can comment on the US or how it is going to affect us, but we are continuously monitoring the situation along with the Ministry of External Affairs and are in touch with our Indian embassies abroad. With respect to the second question on Freedom, my answer will remain the same. I will not hazard a guess on international relations; that's not my job. The entire Government of India, as a whole-of-government approach, is monitoring the situation."
Sharma emphasised again that efforts are on to get Indian ships out of the region as soon as possible.
"Regarding the transit of Indian vessels, if you remember, we have already briefed that as of now, about 11 vessels carrying Indian cargo, of which 10 are Indian-flagged, have already crossed the Strait of Hormuz. The last one was Sarvashakti, which crossed on May 2nd and is supposed to reach New Mangalore by May 8th. Efforts are in hand to get our cargo as well as our flagship out of that as early as possible, and we are closely coordinating with the Ministry of External Affairs on the same," he said.
Sharma said that all ministries are working to ensure that trade is normalised and congestion is being cleared.
"With respect to alternate trade routes, yes, I'm sure both the industry as well as the ministries have had multiple discussions on how to ensure that the trade is normalised. For this, I'm happy to state that there were initial reports of congestion on Indian ports, which is no more there. In fact, the port occupancy ratio has come down to 60 percent from earlier 80 percent, which shows normalisation. Even the containers which were back-to-town have reduced by 98.8 percent, or probably by today 99 percent," he said.
Sharma added, "Further, there are alternate shipping services which have been operationalised with shipping lines such as CMA CGM, Unifeeder, and Maersk, connecting JNPA, Mundra, and Hazira to Sohar, Al Fujairah, and Khor Fakkan. So, there are many places which have been activated. The cargo is moving."
"Unfortunately, there is no Cape of Good Hope for the Strait of Hormuz. But there are efforts in hand both by governments as well as the industry to find alternate sources. As MoPNG has briefed you, there is no shortage. That means whatever people are doing is having a positive effect," he said.
Sharma said that the Indian flagged ships are being chartered by various oil companies.
"For Indian-flagged ships, there are about 13. It's a changing figure. The oil companies keep chartering; some come out, some go in, and the charter keeps changing. So, I will not hazard a guess at this platform," he said.
Earlier on Tuesday, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio had said during his press briefing that the US will use its power and abilities to project military power in the service of its national interest above all else.
"Under President Trump, the United States will help our friends, we're going to stand up to rogue regimes like the one in Tehran, and we're going to be unashamed to use our power and our abilities to project military power in the service of our national interest above all else. Now, what's really important for you to report and for everyone to understand is this is not an offensive operation. This is a defensive operation. What that means is very simple: there's no shooting unless we're shot at first."
