Author: Jonathan Saul, Nidhi Verma and Saurabh Sharma
LONDON/NEW DELHI (Reuters) – Two India-bound oil tankers passed through the Strait of Hormuz on Monday, carrying liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) loaded in the United Arab Emirates and Kuwait, but overall traffic through the key waterway remained blocked.
Hundreds of ships and some 20,000 sailors remain trapped in the Gulf since Tehran threatened to attack ships trying to leave through the Strait of Hormuz. About 20% of the world’s oil and liquefied natural gas typically flow through the Strait of Hormuz.
Ship tracking data on the MarineTraffic platform showed the Pine Gas tanker moving through the channel, closely followed by the Jag Vasant.
Pinetree Gas broadcast a message identifying itself as an “Indian vessel and crew,” according to separate vessel tracking data from London Stock Exchange Group (LSEG).
India’s Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Waterways confirmed that two Indian-flagged tankers carrying more than 92,000 tons of liquefied petroleum gas had sailed through Hormuz with Indian crew on board.
The ships are expected to arrive at Indian ports between March 26 and 28, the ministry said.
maritime corridor efforts
An Indian government source told Reuters separately that the Indian Navy had instructed two ships to cross the strait from the Iranian coastline.
Ship tracking by London Stock Exchange Group showed the vessels had called at anchorages in Kuwait and the United Arab Emirates to load natural gas.
In another voyage, a tanker carrying petroleum products crossed the strait to India on March 21, Kpler data showed.
Countries in the U.N. shipping agency agreed last week to work on establishing a safe maritime corridor to evacuate commercial ships from the Gulf and protect seafarers stranded by the U.S.-Israeli war against Iran that began on February 28. The initiative has not yet given a specific timetable.
“Three weeks after the Hormuz shutdown, the crude oil tanker market remains distorted,” shipbroker Clarksons said on Monday.
“Traffic through the strait is down about 95% from pre-war levels, and Iran-related vessels are still sailing.”
Smooth traffic in Iran
Shipping through Iranian ports has been largely unhindered by the war, according to ship tracking data and sources.
Analysis by United States Against Nuclear Iran (UANI) shows that at least 14 Iranian-flagged tankers have arrived in Asian waters around the Singapore Strait since February 28, carrying oil cargoes. The group monitors oil tanker traffic linked to Iran through ship and satellite tracking.
Analysis shows that transport was briefly suspended at the start of the war but resumed soon after. UANI senior adviser Charlie Brown described Iranian oil flows as “business as usual.”
