Nine India- and foreign-flagged ships have passed through the Strait of Hormuz over the past 72 hours, with seven of them carrying cargo bound for India.
According to official data, 44 ships transporting
India-bound cargo had transited the strategic waterway as of Saturday since the US-Israel and Iran conflict began on Feb. 28. Of these, four of the nine most recent vessels were India-flagged, while the remaining five sailed under foreign flags.
15 more ships of Indian interest remain in the Persian Gulf awaiting safe passage through the strait, TOI reported, citing sources. These include 10 India-flagged vessels, four carrying fertilisers and one transporting energy cargo.
Among them, the India-flagged bulk carrier APJ Priti 2 crossed the Strait of Hormuz on Saturday carrying 65,000 tonnes of fertilisers.
A day earlier, the crude oil tanker Desh Suraksha, carrying a little over one lakh tonnes of crude oil, and Prabhu Parvati, loaded with 18,732 tonnes of cargo, also transited the vital shipping route.
The latest movements came as tensions in West Asia escalated again on Saturday after the US launched strikes on Iran following a ship attack in the Strait of Hormuz on Thursday. Iran has since retaliated against the strikes.
Official figures show that only 19 India-bound transits took place between March 1 and June 17. However, the number rose to 25 in the 10 days after Iran and the US signed an MoU on June 17.
People monitoring maritime traffic said that of the vessels that have crossed the strait since March 1, 15 were bulk carriers, 13 were LPG carriers, 11 were crude tankers, and two were LNG carriers.
