Two LPG carriers cross Strait of Hormuz, set to reach India this week

Two India-bound ships carrying cooking gas crossed the Hormuz Strait over Wednesday and Thursday, said Mukesh Mangal, Additional Secretary, Ministry of Ports, Shipping, and Waterways. These are expected to reach India coming Saturday and Monday.

According to Mangal, the Haji Ali, an Indian flagged mechanised sailing vessel (MSV) sunk in early hours of May 13 - after being attacked. It was a wooden Dhow sailing from Somalia to Sharjah, United Arab Emirates (UAE).

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“They (Dhows) are carrying cargo and not as regulated as the big vessels,” Mangal said, adding he was not aware if Directorate General of Shipping was coordinating movement of the affected vessel.

He said all 14 crew members onboard the Haji Ali were rescued by the Omani Coast Guard and have reached Dibba Port, Oman

Mangal said SYMI, a Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) carrier and Marshall Islands-flagged vessel, carrying 19,965 tonnes of cargo for India crossed the Hormuz on May 13. It has 21 foreign crew members onboard and is expected to arrive at Kandla (Gujarat) on May 16.

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NV SUNSHINE, an LPG carrier and Vietnam-flagged vessel, carrying 46,427 tonnes of LPG cargo for India, with 24 foreign crew members onboard, safely crossed the Strait of Hormuz on May 14, and is expected to arrive at New Mangalore on May 18.

Tensions in the Persian Gulf flared up when Israel-United States (US) joint strikes assassinated Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Iran retaliated with strikes across the region and stalled vessel movement across the Strait of Hormuz, destabilising global energy supply chains. Subsequently, US too blocked vessel movement across the Hormuz.