Two India-flagged liquefied petroleum gas tankers set sail for yet undisclosed Indian ports from the UAE early on Monday, tracking close to the Iranian coastline on a route set by the Islamic Republic through the Strait of Hormuz, people aware of the development said.
Ship-tracking data showed the vessels — the Pine Gas and Jag Vasant — set sail from the UAE coastline, with transponders flashing their India-flagged status while keeping their destinations a secret.
Both are headed for Indian ports and will be escorted by the Indian Navy once they enter international waters, a shipping directorate official said.
One of them is likely headed for Gujarat’s Dahej port, but the destinations can change due to dynamic traffic and operational situations amid the West Asian conflict, a second official said, requesting anonymity.
The Jag Vasant has been chartered by the Bharat Petroleum Corp, while the Pine Gas is hauling gas for the Indian Oil Corp. Last week, Iran allowed two India-flagged LPG carriers — the Shivalik and Nanda Devi to sail through the strait.
Three major west-coast ports — Kandla, Mundra and Dahej — are being kept ready for the ships, but Mundra’s portside LPG storage facilities are currently full, HT has learnt. “Ship-to-ship transfer is also a possibility for onward transportation,” the official said.
Ramping up diplomatic engagement, Prime Minister Narendra Modi spoke to Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian on March 21, the second time this month.
The tankers are making their way through a narrow corridor between the Iranian islands of Larak and Qeshm, a conduit Iran has designated for vessels it permits. This route is being monitored by Iranian forces and its navy, which provided navigation help to two earlier Indian vessels in crossing the strait, the chief officer of the Nanda Devi tanker, Sanjay Prashar, told HT.
The safe passages for the India-destined tankers are among the very few allowed by Iran through the vital waterway, which handles a fifth of the world’s crude flows. The expected cargoes, especially LPG, signal a major relief for 333 million Indian households that depend on the fuel for daily cooking.