Kamal Ghorui
A liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) tanker carrying cargo for India has crossed the Strait of Hormuz and is now sailing towards the country, offering some relief to supplies disrupted by the Middle East conflict, PTI reported.An official statement said the Marshall Islands-flagged vessel MT Sarv Shakti, carrying 46,313 tonnes of LPG, cleared the strategic chokepoint on May 2 and is expected to arrive at Visakhapatnam on May 13.The ship has a crew of 20 members, including 18 Indians.The cargo is enough to meet around half a day of India’s LPG requirement and is expected to partly ease supply constraints that have persisted since the conflict in West Asia began more than two months ago.Ship-tracking data showed the vessel in the Oman Gulf on Sunday evening.The very large gas carrier, previously used on Persian Gulf-India routes, has been chartered by state-owned Indian Oil Corporation (IOC).Sarv Shakti is the first India-linked tanker to pass through the conflict-hit zone since the US blockade of ships linked to Iran began weeks ago, sharply reducing traffic through Hormuz.As many as 14 Indian-flagged or India-owned vessels are still stranded on the western side of the Strait of Hormuz.The statement said no incident involving Indian-flagged vessels had been reported in the last 24 hours.The Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Waterways is coordinating with the Ministry of External Affairs, Indian missions and maritime stakeholders to ensure crew welfare and smooth operations.The Directorate General of Shipping control room has handled 8,373 calls and over 17,965 emails since activation, including 38 calls and 127 emails in the past 24 hours.India has also facilitated the repatriation of more than 2,953 seafarers so far, including 31 in the last day from across the Gulf region.Port operations across the country remain normal, with no congestion reported, the statement added.
