Vessel carrying 20,000 tonnes of LPG crosses Strait of Hormuz, arrives at Kandla Port in Gujarat

New Delhi: A Marshall Islands-flagged vessel carrying 20,000 metric tonnes of Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) arrived at Deendayal Port Authority in Kandla late on Saturday, successfully navigating the volatile Strait of Hormuz amid the ongoing West Asia crisis.

The MV SYMI, which departed from Qatar, docked at the port around 11:30 pm on Saturday after crossing the strategic waterway on May 13, the Shipping Ministry officials said here on Sunday.

This arrival comes as India continues to maintain its energy supply chain despite heightened tensions in the region.

Since early March, 13 India-flagged vessels — including 12 LPG tankers and one crude oil tanker — have crossed the Strait of Hormuz, through which roughly one-fifth of the world's energy supplies pass.

The narrow passage has faced severe disruptions following the outbreak of conflict in West Asia on February 28, triggered by joint US-Israel attacks on Iran and subsequent retaliatory strikes.

The situation has escalated into one of the most serious global energy crises in recent decades.India has strongly condemned attacks on commercial shipping in the area.

At a special meeting of the United Nations Economic and Social Council (UNECOSOC) focused on safeguarding energy and supply flows, India's Permanent Representative to the UN, Parvathaneni Harish, described the targeting of commercial vessels, endangering civilian crew members, and impeding freedom of navigation in the Strait of Hormuz as "unacceptable."

On the same day the MV SYMI crossed the strait (May 13), an India-flagged commercial vessel came under attack off the coast of Oman. Omani authorities rescued all 14 crew members from the vessel, which was sailing from Somalia. The identity of the attackers remains unknown.