International

Distress call captures tanker crew coming under Iranian fire

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by Max Rego - 04/20/26 9:06 PM ET

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by Max Rego - 04/20/26 9:06 PM ET

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A distress call captured Saturday details a crewmember on an Indian ship pleading with Iranian forces as his vessel comes under fire in the Strait of Hormuz.

“Sepah Navy,” the crewmember said, referring to a special unit of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) Navy. “Motor Tanker Sanmar Herald. Sanmar Herald. Sepah Navy. You gave me clearance. You gave me clearance to go.”

The 33-second audio clip of the call was shared by TankerTrackers.com on the social platform X.

“Sepah Navy. Sepah Navy. This is motor tanker Sanmar Herald. You gave me clearance to go,” the crewmember continued. “My name [is] second on your list. You gave me clearance to go. You are firing now. Let me turn back.”

The Indian ship was one of two vessels bearing that country’s flag that came under fire by the IRGC Navy on Saturday. The U.K. Marine Trade Operations (UKMTO) office reported that two IRGC gun boats fired on a tanker roughly 20 nautical miles northeast of Oman, while an unknown projectile hit a container ship roughly 25 nautical miles from Oman.

After the first incident, the UKMTO reported that the tanker and crew were safe, while the office said the projectile that hit the latter ship caused damage to “some” of the containers the ship was carrying but did not result in fires or environmental impact.

The Indian Ministry of External Affairs wrote in a Saturday statement that it summoned Iranian Ambassador to India Mohammad Fathali for a meeting with Indian Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri.

During that meeting, Misri “conveyed India’s deep concern” about the incidents and “noted the importance that India attached to the safety of merchant shipping and mariners and recalled that Iran had earlier facilitated the safe passage of several ships” headed for India.

“Reiterating his concern at this serious incident of firing on merchant ships, [Misri] urged the Ambassador to convey India’s views to the authorities in Iran and resume at the earliest the process of facilitating India-bound ships across the Strait,” the statement continued. “The Ambassador of Iran undertook to convey these views to the Iranian authorities.”

Since the U.S. and Israel launched strikes against Iran on Feb. 28, the IRGC has restricted shipping through the Strait of Hormuz — which is bordered by Iran and Oman, but considered an international waterway ships can pass through, according to the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea. That has resulted in oil prices skyrocketing, with drivers in the U.S. seeing a rise in prices at the pump.

In response to the IRGC’s actions, the U.S. Navy began blockading the chokepoint last Monday. American forces also intercepted an Iranian-flagged ship seeking to bypass that blockade on Sunday.

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