LPG Carrier With 18 Indians Aboard Safely Crosses Strait Of Hormuz Amid Iran-US Tussle

A Marshall Islands-flagged LPG Carrier, MT Sarv Shakti, carrying 46,313 MT of LPG (Indian cargo) and 18 Indian crew members, safely crossed the Strait of Hormuz on Saturday, as per reports.

The LPG carrier was carrying 20 crew members, including 18 Indians and is expected to arrive at Visakhapatnam on May 13, 2026, official sources told news agency ANI.

According to multiple reports, MV Sarv Shakti departed from a port in the United Arab Emirates. It has become the first India-linked ship to cross the Strait of Hormuz despite the enforcement of a US Navy blockade, which remains a sticky point in the US-Iran peace talks.

The very large gas carrier (VLGC), whose cargo belongs to the state-owned Indian Oil Corporation (IOC), has previously travelled

between Indian ports and the Persian Gulf, and has broadcast that it is carrying Indian crew members, according to Bloomberg.

The safe passage of the LPG tanker is expected to provide relief to India, which is one of the world’s largest importers of cooking oil. India is facing a supply crunch since the eruption of the Iran-US war, leading to the closure of the Strait of Hormuz.

Ongoing geopolitical tensions in West Asia have pushed up crude oil and input costs, which directly impacts LPG pricing – especially for commercial cylinders.

Iran-US Tensions Persist

Meanwhile, tensions persist between the US and Iran as the Navy blockade around Iranian ports continues. US President Donald Trump on Friday said the US Navy was acting “like pirates” in the region after seizing some Iranian vessels.

Iran has blocked nearly all ships passing through the Strait of Hormuz apart from its own since the start of the war on February 28, which increased oil prices and led to the blockade of the Strait of Hormuz, a chokepoint for about 20% of global oil and ​liquefied natural gas shipments.

Trump also said he was not satisfied with the latest Iranian proposal to end the war, in which Tehran proposed to open the strait while holding nuclear talks at a later stage. Trump and his administration has made it clear that any peace proposal would include a complete halt to Iran’s nuclear programme, which Tehran argues it for peaceful civilian use.