NEW DELHI, Mar 18: Addressing looming concerns about India’s energy supplies stranded in vessels at the Strait of Hormuz blocked amidst the escalating tension in West Asia, Rajesh Kumar Sinha, Special Secretary at the Ministry of Shipping and Waterways told reporters in the daily inter-ministerial briefing on Wednesday that Indian-flagged tankers presently in the region that opens into the Persian Gulf are carrying 2 lakh tonnes of liquefied natural gas (LNG) and 16.7 lakh tonnes (LMT) of crude oil.
“LNG is about 2 lakh metric tonnes, and crude oil is 16.7 lakh metric tonne,” he informed, adding, “It is [the] approximate as we know today on those Indian-flagged vessels in the West of Strait of Hormuz.” This is in addition to the 3 lakh metric tonnes of LPG presently transiting the Western part of the Strait of Hormuz. For context, at present, a total of 22 vessels are operating in the region that opens into the Persian Gulf. Of these, one tanker is carrying LNG, four are carrying crude oil and six LPG.
Earlier this week, two LPG carriers, Shivalik and Nanda Devi, completed their voyage reaching Mundra Port and Kandla Port, respectively. They were cumulatively carrying cooking gas of approximately 92,712 MT. Further, crude carrier Jag Laadki also completed its journey to Mundra Port earlier in the day. It was carrying approximately 81,000 tonnes of Murban crude oil from the United Arab Emirates.
In fact, the vessel narrowly escaped when the Fujairah terminal was attacked while it was loading. It is learnt that the Indian Navy deployed warships to escort Indian-flagged vessels transiting through the Persian Gulf region. They escorted all three Indian-flagged vessels Shivalik, Jag Laadki and Nanda Devi.
(Manas Dasgupta)
