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As developments in West Asia continue to unfold, the Shipping Ministry on Wednesday said that all Indian seafarers in West Asia are safe, with no incidents involving Indian-flagged vessels reported in the last 48 hours.
Speaking at a joint inter-ministerial briefing on recent developments in the Gulf region, Additional Secretary, Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Waterways, Mukesh Mangal, stated that all Indian vessels and crew currently in the Persian Gulf are being closely monitored. "All seafarers in the Persian Gulf remain safe," he added. "18 Indian vessels with around 485 seafarers are in the region. Over 964 seafarers have been repatriated so far, while ports across India continue to operate normally," Mangal informed. On port operations, he confirmed that there were no reports of congestion and that all activities were running smoothly in the last 24 hours. "In the last 24 hours, the DG Shipping communication centre, which operates 24 hours a day, received 70 calls and 245 emails, all of which were responded to," he said. "We are maintaining continuous coordination with the Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Waterways, the Ministry of External Affairs, Indian missions abroad, and other stakeholders in the maritime sector," Mangal added. Meanwhile, about 5,98,000 passengers have returned to India amid the developing security situation in West Asia and the Gulf region, a senior government official said. He also shared that the incident caused by debris from an interception in Dubai yesterday, three Indian nationals sustained minor injuries, and the consulate is in close touch with them as it renders all assistance. The authorities in Dubai confirm that the incident caused by debris from an interception that fell on houses in southern Dubai resulted in minor injuries to two Indian nationals, one Bangladeshi national, and one Sri Lankan national. Aseem R Mahajan, Additional Secretary (Gulf), Ministry of External Affairs, said that the overall flight situation continues to improve with additional flights operating from the region to various destinations in India. He further added that around 90 flights are expected to operate from the UAE to India today. The Central Government has been proactively undertaking coordinated measures to maintain stability across critical sectors. Efforts remain focused on ensuring uninterrupted energy supplies, safeguarding maritime operations, and extending necessary support to Indian nationals in the region. The West Asia crisis began on February 28 with US-Israel strikes on Iran and subsequent Iranian retaliation. (ANI)
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