"I hope that the Mozambican state will initiate international legal proceedings against the owners of that vessel, because they have misused our national flag," said Simango during a press conference in Maputo, at which the leader of the third-largest opposition party addressed various current issues.

Lutero Simango expressed concern about the illegal use of the national symbol on a foreign vessel, a practice, according to the authorities, that has occurred repeatedly.

The incident in question involves a Mozambican-flagged LPG tanker that was attacked on 24 July in Iranian territorial waters. The 28 Indian crew members who were on board are safe, according to the Indian Embassy in Tehran, which stated that the vessel 'DISHA' (IMO 8818219) "was the target of an attack in Iranian territorial waters".

The Indian diplomatic mission did not provide details on the circumstances of the attack, the nature of the damage sustained by the vessel, or whether any other crew members of different nationalities were on board.

In a statement issued on 26 July, Mozambique's National Institute of Maritime Transport (ITRANSMAR) stated that the vessel in question is neither registered nor authorised to fly the national flag, and pledged to carry out investigations to identify those responsible for the incident.

The Mozambican maritime transport regulatory authority highlighted the "abusive or fraudulent" use of the Mozambican flag, as well as practices likely to compromise maritime safety, the integrity of international ship registration systems, trust between states and the fundamental principle of freedom of navigation and pledged to investigate the case.

The 'DISHA' is a 230-metre LPG tanker built in 1990 with a cargo capacity of around 50,000 tonnes. It is used to transport LPG, a fuel widely used in domestic kitchens, industry and energy production.

Also at yesterday's press conference, the MDM leader criticised the Mozambican authorities for their habitual practice of awarding contracts without public tender, arguing that this undermines public trust.

"This is a serious matter, because it has an impact on governance and transparency. Where contracts are awarded without a public tender, this signifies a lack of transparency; it weakens public institutions and leads to a loss of trust on the part of citizens," Lutero pointed out, adding that it also calls into question "efforts to combat corruption".