Two more Indian LPG tankers have passed safely amid Iran’s blockade on the Strait of Hormuz. They are expected to reach Indian shores in the next few days. These ships have a stock of cooking gas for almost one day’s use in the country.
An official statement said that two LPG ships BW TYR and BW ELM, carrying LPG cargo of about 94,000 tonnes, have safely passed through the area and are heading towards Indian shores. While BW TYR is headed towards Mumbai and is expected to arrive on March 31, BW ELM is headed towards New Mangalore and is expected to arrive on April 1.
Officials said that due to the attacks by America and Israel and the widespread reaction by Iran, the movement of ships through the Strait of Hormuz has almost stopped. This narrow sea route is the way to export oil and gas from the Gulf countries to the world. However, Iran had said last week that ships of countries which are not enemies can pass through this route after coordination with Iranian authorities.
Earlier, four Indian flagged LPG tankers have passed through this route safely. Pine Gas and Jag Vasant, which were carrying 92,612 tonnes of LPG, arrived at Indian ports between March 26 and March 28. Earlier, 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 on March 17.
India fulfills 60 percent of its LPG requirement from Gulf countries.
For a country that meets about 60 percent of its LPG needs through imports from Gulf countries, the arrival of these ships will help in mitigating the LPG crisis. India consumed 33.1 million tonnes of LPG last year, of which about 60 percent of the demand was met through imports. Of these, 90 percent imports came from West Asia. After the closure of the Strait of Hormuz, India is receiving LPG from countries like America and Argentina.
A statement said that there are a total of 18 Indian flagged ships in the western Persian Gulf region carrying 485 Indian sailors. Originally, there were 28 Indian-flagged ships in the Strait of Hormuz when the war in West Asia began. Of these, 24 were towards the west and four towards the east.
Six ships from the west and two ships from the east managed to escape safely.
In the last few days, six ships from the west and two ships from the east have been successful in escaping safely. Another tanker Jag Prakash, which was carrying petrol from Oman to Africa, has also passed safely while on its way to Tanzania. LPG ships Jag Vikram, Green Aashi and Green Saanvi are still in Hormuz. An empty vessel is being filled with LPG. The control room of the Directorate General of Shipping is working round the clock and has handled 4,523 calls and 8,985 emails so far. These include 92 calls and 120 emails in the last 24 hours.
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