Around 3 lakh metric tonnes LPG presently stranded at Strait of Hormuz : Govt
HORMUZ : About 3 lakh metric tonnes of liquified petroleum gas (LPG) is presently stranded at the Strait of Hormuz, Rajesh Kumar Sinha, special secretary at ministry of ports, shipping, and waterways said on March 17.
Presently, 22 Indian-flagged vessels are stranded at the Strait of Hormuz of which six are LPG carriers, one is an LNG tanker, four vessels are carrying crude oil, one is chemical and products carrier, three are container ships, and two are bulk carriers among other vessels, as per data by shipping ministry.
“One LPG vessel (Very Large Gas Carrier) roughly carries 45,000 metric tonnes of LPG. There are roughly 3 lakh metric tonnes of LPG presently stranded at the strait of Hormuz,” Sinha said.
Two Indian-flagged LPG tankers — the Shivalik and Nanda Devi — safely passed through the Strait of Hormuz on March 14 and have reached India carrying approximately 92,700 metric tons of LPG.
India has begun sourcing cooking gas from the United States as part of efforts to diversify supplies amid the ongoing West Asia crisis in addition with the long-term deal signed by state-run refiners for 2.2 million tonnes per annum of LPG for 2026.
“Most of the LPG is coming from the Gulf. Our OMCs have started taking LPG from the US. Government is putting all efforts to diversify sources of LPG too,” said Sujata Sharma, Joint Secretary in the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas, at a government briefing. She added, “We are getting more crude today due to increased diversification.”
Meanwhile, Randhir Jaiswal, additional secretary in the ministry of external affairs clarified on reports of giving three Iranian vessel in exchange of safe passage to Indian vessels along strait of Hormuz and said that no discussion between Indian and Iranian authorities have taken place.
“In any case, the three vessels you refer to are not Iran owned and there’s no Iran crude on it,” Jaiswal said.
Government sources also told Moneycontrol that India continues to export pharmaceutical to Iran amid reports of India agreeing to provide medical equipment to Iran to ensure safe passage of vessels from the strait of Hormuz.
India will seek vessel by vessel permission rather than a blanket clearance from Iran for safe passage of its ships from the Strait of Hormuz, a government official has earlier told Moneycontrol.
Government sources had earlier told Moneycontrol that India is continuously engaging with Iran to ensure safe transit of remaining stranded vessels in the Persian Gulf. “We are in continuous talks, we want to ensure safe passage for Indian vessels,” the source said, adding that there will be more talks.
Sinha further said that the ministry has held discussions internally for providing war risk premium to shipping lines which is presently an issue. “We have asked them to give specific issues. The same issue was not raised by Shipping Corp of India when we were doing transit of these two ships (LPG carriers), but later on some shipping lines have faced this. So as soon as they inform us about the challenges, we will take up,” Sinha said.
Further, India is also mulling to establish Protection and Indemnity (P&I) insurance for the country’s maritime sector, the shipping ministry official said.
“On the P&I club, there has already been considerable progress on this matter earlier, and recently 2-3 days ago we have revisited it again with the Department of Financial Services,” Sinha said.
He added that the government has also commissioned a study on this, which is partly complete. “The study report should be with us very soon and based on its findings, we will take this forward, as it is important for us,” the official said.
“On the P&I club, there has already been considerable progress on this matter earlier, and recently we have revisited it again with DFS. We have also commissioned a study on this, which is partly complete. The study report should be shared with you very soon. Based on its findings, we will take this forward, as it is important for us.”