At least 28 ships, including vessels carrying crude oil, liquefied petroleum gas (LPG), and LNG supplies to India, are currently stranded near the Strait of Hormuz, the Indian government has confirmed.
The vessels include at least 10 foreign-flagged cargoes with supplies to India and 18 India-flagged ships, including those carrying energy products, according to Rajesh Kumar Sinha, Special Secretary in the Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Waterways.
The stranded foreign-flagged vessels include four crude oil tankers, three vessels carrying LPG, and three LNG carriers, Sinha told a media briefing, as carried by Indian media.
India-flagged vessels anchored around the Strait of Hormuz number 18, of which four are crude oil tankers, three are LPG carriers, and one is carrying LNG. Another tanker is currently loading LPG in the region, according to the Indian government, which noted that all 485 Indian seafarers aboard the vessels are safe.
The war in the Middle East has stranded much of the energy supplies typically going to India via the Strait of Hormuz, creating a crunch in oil and gas supply in the world’s third-largest crude oil importer, which also depends on LPG for most of its cooking fuel.
India’s priority now is to ensure safe passage through the Strait of Hormuz of India-flagged vessels carrying vital cargoes, which include LPG, the Indian official said.
Over the past few days, eight India-flagged vessels have transited the Strait of Hormuz, he added. The ships that made it through the Strait include two LPG carriers, which are expected to arrive in India on Tuesday and Wednesday, Sinha said.
Early last week, two other India-flagged vessels carrying LPG passed through the Strait of Hormuz close to the Iranian coastline, in a sign that Iran is allowing some Indian vessels to transit the world’s most vital chokepoint for energy flows.
By Tsvetana Paraskova for Oilprice.com
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