India’s vaccination campaign
Assessment in Israel is that blast was a targeted attempt by Iran, Haaretz says
India is garnering global appreciation by sending vaccines to many countries (“Five Indian states witness surge in daily new Covid-19 cases”, Gulf News, February 20). However, the local vaccination programme within the country is yet very tardy. India has disbursed only 11.1 million vaccines, compared to 60.7 million in the USA, 40.5 million in China, 17.9 million in the UK. India needs to step on the accelerator hard to vaccinate about a million citizens every day. Five private hospitals in Mumbai have recently been permitted to vaccinate their health staff. They should be given the green light to vaccinate the general public too. Large corporations like Tata, Unilever have clinics with medical staff in their offices and factories. These companies should be given adequate vaccines for their doctors to inoculate their managers, staff, and factory workers. In the UAE, many companies made arrangements to inoculate their staff on the office premises. In a large country like India, organising inoculations in offices and factories should be the norm. At the current rate, inoculating a billion people in India will be a lengthy process. Citizens are puzzled and frustrated about why the vaccination drive is not in full traction as yet. India must commence vaccination on a 24-hour basis. Keeping awake for a night for a vaccine is better than suffering severe lockdowns.
■ MR RAJENDRA ANEJA
Mumbai, India
An explosion struck an Israeli-owned cargo ship sailing out of the Middle East yesterday, an unexplained blast renewing concerns about ship security in the region amid escalating tensions between the US and Iran.
The current assessment in Israel is that the explosion was a targeted attempt against an Israeli-owned ship by Iran, Israeli newspaper Haaretz said. However, the cause of the explosion remains unclear. The US Navy’s Bahrain-based 5th Fleet said it was “aware and monitoring” the situation.
The crew and vessel were safe, according to the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations, which is run by the British navy. The explosion in the Gulf of Oman forced the vessel to head to the nearest port.
Dryad Global identified the stricken vessel as the MV Helios Ray, a Bahamian-flagged roll-on, roll-off vehicle cargo ship. Satellite-tracking data from website MarineTraffic. com showed the Helios Ray had been nearly entering the Arabian Sea around 0600 GMT yesterday before it suddenly turned around and began heading back towards the Strait of Hormuz.
It was coming from Dammam, Saudi Arabia, and still listed Singapore as its destination. A UN ship database identified the vessel’s owners as a Tel Aviv-based firm called Ray Shipping. Abraham Ungar, 74, who goes by ‘Rami’, is the founder of Ray Shipping, and is known as one of the richest men in Israel.
Capt Ranjith Raja of the data firm Refinitiv said that the vessel had left the Gulf on Thursday. At 0230 GMT yesterday, it stopped for at least 9 hours east of a main Omani port before making a 360-degree turn, likely for repairs.
The crew and ship were safe, but the explosion in the Gulf of Oman forced the vessel to head to the nearest port.