India engaging with other countries to address the situation in Strait of Hormuz: Centre

New Delhi: The Centre on Wednesday said India is actively engaging with other countries to address the situation in the Strait of Hormuz and ensure the safe return of Indian vessels currently in the region.

"We continue to call for dialogue and diplomacy to bring an early end to this conflict," Randhir Jaisal, spokesperson of MEA said at the Inter Ministerial Briefing on Recent Development in West Asia.

The statement comes amid heightened concerns over maritime security in the strategically vital waterway, which handles a significant portion of India’s oil imports.

External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Wednesday participated in the ‘AZEC Plus’ meeting convened by Japan to discuss supply chain disruptions in the energy markets. The Minister underlined India’s strong commitment to safe and unimpeded transit passage of maritime shipping.

"As a major energy consumer, India will work with like-minded partners to develop supply chain resilience," Jaiswal said.

The Ministry of External Affairs also said that India continues to buy oil from diversified sources keeping in mind the energy requirements of the Indian population, the global situation and market condition.

At least 15 Indian-flagged vessels are currently stranded west of the Strait of Hormuz chokepoint after the United States announced a blockade of Iranian ports and coastal areas.

The Director General of Shipping has facilitated the safe repatriation of over 2,337 Indian seafarers so far, including 75 in the past 24 hours from various locations across the Gulf region, the government said.

The Centre also reiterated that there is adequate stock of fuel and asked people to buy fuel only as per requirement.

"Domestic LPG supply is normal and no dry-outs have been reported anywhere. Online LPG bookings is at 98 percent and 93 percent deliveries are through authentication codes," said Sujata Sharma, joint secretary in Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas.

Average auto LPG sale by PSU oil marketing companies in the month of April 26 (till April 14, 26) is around 282 million tonne/day against the avg. of 177 MT/day during Feb-26, she said.

Since March 2026, about 4.5 lakh PNG connections have been gasified and about 5 lakh additional customers have registered for new connections, she said.

The ministry said that 2,100 raids were conducted to crackdown on black marketing and illegal hoarding on Tuesday and till now penalties have been imposed on 237 distributors.