Delhi Plans to Evacuate 9 Indian-Flagged Ships First as 19 Oil, LPG, LNG Vessels Remain in Strait of Hormuz

As many as 19 ships with LPG, crude oil and LNG meant for India are currently stranded in the Strait of Hormuz due to the escalating Iran war, and New Delhi is looking to prioritise the evacuation of Indian-flagged vessels, according to Rajesh Kumar Sinha, Special Secretary in the Ministry of Ports, Shipping, and Waterways. So far, eight Indian flagged vessels have sailed out safely as Iran declared that the Strait of Hormuz is only closed for the US and its allies and allowed "friendly" nations to sail through the narrow waterway. There are 10 foreign-flagged vessels with energy cargo for India, Rajesh Kumar Sinha, Special Secretary in the Ministry of Ports, Shipping, and Waterways, said at an inter-ministerial briefing. These include 3 vessels with LPG, four

crude oil tankers and three liquefied natural gas (LNG) carriers.Besides these, there are Indian-flagged vessels. These include three LPG tankers, one LNG carrier and four crude oil tankers. One empty tanker is being filled with LPG. The Strait of Hormuz is the narrow shipping lane that is a conduit for oil and gas exports from Gulf countries to the world.

India's Plan For Vessels Stuck in Strait of Hormuz

"Our first priority is to get Indian flagged vessels out. We are yet to reach the stage where we start sending back vessels (for refills)," Sinha said. He said that the ministry has been closely monitoring the evolving situation in West Asia, particularly with regard to the safety of Indian seafarers, vessel movements and port operations."All Indian seafarers in the region are safe, and no incident involving Indian-flagged vessels has been reported in the past 24 hours. The situation has remained stable over the last 72 hours as well," he said.Originally, there were 28 Indian-flagged vessels in the Strait of Hormuz when the war in West Asia broke out. Of these, 24 were on the West side of the Strait and four on the East side. In the last few days, six vessels from the west side and two from the east have managed to sail to safety.

Indian Vessels Safely Sail Through Strait of Hormuz

Several Indian vessels safely sailed through the Strait of Hormuz amid the ongoing US-Israel-Iran war that began on February 28 after the US and Israel carried out joint strikes on Iran, killing the country's Supreme Leader; and Tehran responded by hitting US and non-US targets across West Asia. Pine Gas and Jag Vasant, carrying 92,612 tonnes of LPG, reached Indian ports between March 26 and March 28. Prior to that, MT Shivalik and MT Nanda Devi, carrying about 92,712 tonnes of LPG, had reached Mundra port in Gujarat on March 16 and Kandla port, respectively, on March 17.Besides, the Indian-flagged oil tanker Jag Laadki, with 80,886 tonnes of crude oil from the UAE, reached Mundra on March 18. Another tanker, Jag Prakash, carrying gasoline from Oman to Africa, had previously safely crossed the strait and is en route to Tanzania.(With PTI inputs)