Iranians state television on Thursday released a purported video of armed personnel boarding two container ships in the Strait of Hormuz, seizing them. The container ships have been identified in the video as MSC-Francesca and Epaminodes.

At least one Indian seafarer was among the crew of a vessel taken into custody. In a press briefing, Mukesh Mangal, Additional Secretary in the Ministry of Ports, Shipping & Waterways, said that two of the three foreign-flagged commercial vessels had 22 Indian seafarers.

While there was no Indian on Francesca, one Indian was among the 21 crew onboard Epaminondas. Onboard third vessel, Euphoria, 21 Indians were among the crew. They were safe as they were out of Iranian waters,

The IRGC initiated the seizure attempt after Francesca and the Liberia-flagged Epaminondas allegedly were sailing without the necessary authorisations and were tampering with Iran's navigation systems.

The Greek-operated and India-headed Epaminondas came under fire around 20 nautical miles northwest of Oman. According to the data from the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations, the vessel sustained damage to its bridge. The vessel was attacked by gunfire and rocket-propelled grenades from an IRGC gunboat, news agency Reuters has reported.

The ships were reportedly not contacted on the radio before the attack despite having an earlier clearance to transit the strait. The vessel with its crew of 21 Ukrainians and Filipinos was later taken to Bandar Abbas.

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Earlier, Iran's semi-official Tasnim news agency reported the move, stating that the move was taken after the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) Navy had warned that any disruption to order and safety in Hormuz would be considered a "red line."

MSC Francesca was Panama-flagged, while Epaminondas was Liberia-flagged. A third vessel, also bearing the Liberian flag, Euphoria, was fired upon by the IRGC Navy. Although the ship sustained no damage and later continued its journey to Fujairah in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), as stated in a Reuters report.

Iran has tightened its control in the wake of the United States blockade of the Strait. It has banned all vessels in the Strait, causing a significant disruption.

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Earlier in the day, the US seized an Iran-linked vessel in the Indian Ocean. A vessel identified as Majestic X was situated between Sri Lanka and Indonesia in the ocean, according to ship-tracking data.