India seeks passage for more vessels stranded around Strait of Hormuz after a few sail through

NEW DELHI: India has sought safe passage for 22 of its vessels stranded west of the Strait of Hormuz, a foreign affairs ministry spokesperson said on Saturday, after Iran allowed a few Indian ships to sail through, in a rare exception to the blockade.

Randhir Jaiswal told a press conference that India has stayed in touch with all major parties in the Middle East - including Gulf Cooperation Council countries, Iran, the U.S. and Israel - to convey its priorities, particularly on energy security.

Tehran’s Ambassador to India, Mohammad Fathali, confirmed that Iran has allowed some Indian vessels to sail through the Strait of Hormuz. He was speaking on broadcaster India Today’s conclave in New Delhi.

Since the United States and Israel launched a bombing campaign on Iran, Tehran has largely halted traffic through the strait, which runs past its coast and through which around 20% of global oil and seaborne liquefied natural gas is supplied.

READ MORE: Iranian oil flows through Strait of Hormuz even as Gulf neighbors’ exports shut

The blockade has triggered India’s worst gas crisis in decades with the government cutting supplies for industries to shield households from any shortage of cooking gas.

The stranded ships include four crude oil vessels, six liquefied petroleum gas carriers and one liquefied natural gas vessel, special secretary at the Indian shipping ministry Rajesh Kumar Sinha said at the same press conference.

Sinha said two Indian vessels, Shivalik and Nanda Devi chartered by Indian Oil Corp, had safely passed through the strait and would reach the western Indian ports of Mundra and Kandla on March 16 and 17.

The vessels together carry more than 92,000 metric tons of liquefied petroleum gas, he said.

India is also trying to build consensus among BRICS members for a position on the Middle East conflict, Jaiswal said.

India is current chair of the BRICS group of countries comprising original members Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa which has expanded to include Iran and others.