Another Indian vessel carrying 80,800 MT of crude  sails out of UAE’s Fujairah

A third Indian vessel carrying crude oil sailed safely from Fujairah for India on March 14, the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas said on Sunday. 

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Two vessels carrying LPG have already crossed the Strait of Hormuz, which has effectively been shut by Iran. 

The vessel, Jag Laadki, had been loading crude oil at the Fujairah Single Point Mooring on March 14 when the Fujairah oil terminal was attacked.

“It sailed safely from Fujairah at 1030 hrs IST today, carrying about 80,800 MT of Murban crude oil and is bound for India. The vessel and all Indian seafarers onboard are safe,” the ministry said in a statement. 

Two Indian-flag LPG carriers, Shivalik and Nanda Devi, carrying about 92,712 MT of LPG, had crossed the Strait of Hormuz on 14 March and are currently on passage to India. The vessels are scheduled to reach Mundra Port on March 16 and Kandla Port on March 17, respectively.

These two ships were among the 24 ships that were stranded on the west side of the strait since the war broke out in the region.

At present, 22 Indian-flagged vessels with 611 seafarers remain west of the Persian Gulf region. The Directorate General of Shipping continues to monitor the situation in coordination with ship owners, RPSL agencies, and Indian Missions, the statement said. 

Since the activation of the DG Shipping Control Room, authorities have handled 2,995 phone calls and more than 5,357 emails from seafarers, their families, and maritime stakeholders seeking information and assistance.

The DG Shipping has facilitated the safe repatriation of 276 Indian seafarers from the Gulf region so far, including 23 repatriations in the past 24 hours from airports and regional locations.

India imports about 88 per cent of its crude oil, 50 per cent of its natural gas, and 60 per cent of its LPG needs. Before the US-Israel strikes on Iran on February 28 and Tehran’s retaliation, more than half of India’s crude imports, about 30 per cent of gas, and 85-90 per cent of LPG imports came from West Asian countries, such as Saudi Arabia and the UAE. The conflict has led to a blockade of the Strait of Hormuz, the main transit route for Gulf energy supplies.
 

(With inputs from PTI)