India prioritises return of stranded ships before resuming fuel loading through Strait of Hormuz

With several Indian vessels still stranded near the Strait of Hormuz amid the ongoing conflict in the region, the Centre on Thursday said its immediate focus is on ensuring the safe return of all ships before allowing fresh fuel-loading operations to resume.

"Our priority is ‌to get all our ships out of the Strait of Hormuz," said Mukesh Mangal, additional secretary at India's ministry of ports, shipping and waterways, reported Reuters.

Addressing a press conference, Mangal said the shipping ministry was working closely with the external affairs ministry and that a decision on resuming operations would be taken only after all stranded vessels had safely returned.

He said India would consider sending vessels to the western side of the Strait again "whenever the situation becomes conducive".

According to officials, 13 Indian-flagged ships and one Indian-owned vessel remain stuck west of the Strait of Hormuz, added the report.

Since the conflict triggered by the US-Israeli strikes on Iran on February 28 and the subsequent effective closure of the Hormuz, only 13 vessels carrying energy cargoes, mostly liquefied petroleum gas (LPG), have managed to pass through the route.

The disruption has severely impacted India’s energy supplies. Before the conflict, the country imported over 40 per cent of its crude oil and nearly 90 per cent of its cooking gas requirements from the Middle East via the Strait of Hormuz. With movement through the corridor largely suspended, India is now facing one of its most serious LPG supply disruptions in decades, said Reuters report.