India denies reports of payments to Iran for Strait of Hormuz passage

India has dismissed allegations that its vessels made payments to Iran in exchange for safe passage through the Strait of Hormuz after two ships were fired upon and forced to turn back. 

Authorities called reports of cryptocurrency-related scams completely false and confirmed that no such payments took place, according to foreign media.

The clarification comes after an incident on April 18, when two India-flagged vessels were compelled to retreat following reported firing by Iranian forces while attempting to transit the Strait of Hormuz. 

The episode sparked concern in maritime circles and renewed attention on security risks in one of the world’s most critical energy corridors.

An audio recording from the Indian tanker Sanmar Herald surfaced, in which the captain can be heard appealing to Iranian forces amid the incident: "This is motor vessel, Sanmar Herald. You gave me clearance to go, my name is second on your list... You are firing now. Let me turn back."

Following speculation that the event was linked to a cryptocurrency-based scam targeting ship operators, the government firmly rejected any such connection. Earlier reports had claimed that fraudulent actors were offering false safe passage arrangements in exchange for crypto payments.

Mukesh Mangal, Additional Secretary in the Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Waterways, dismissed these claims.

"News is spreading about a reported payment by the captain of the vessel Sanmar Herald in US dollar to persons claiming to represent the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) Navy to grant passage, and fell victim to cyber criminals. We spoke with the owner of the vessel, and he confirmed that it is fake news and no such incident had happened," he added.

He further emphasised that there is no verified evidence suggesting any Indian vessel made payments for passage. "As we have been telling in past also, we do not have any new data, any confirmation on any of our vessels has paid money to any of the authorities for this purpose," Mangal added.

By Jeyhun Aghazada