Big relief to India! One oil tanker reached Mumbai via Hormuz, another on the way to Paradip

New Delhi. Amid the ongoing conflict in West Asia, a foreign-flagged tanker carrying crude oil for India has safely crossed the Strait of Hormuz and reached Mumbai, while another big tanker has entered Indian waters and is heading towards Paradip port in Odisha. The information comes from ship monitoring data and industry sources.

Tanker movement through the strait has been largely affected due to the increasing conflict in the region. In such a situation, the safe arrival of these ships is very important for India’s energy supply. Liberian flagged tanker ‘Shenlong’ reached Mumbai port on Wednesday evening carrying about 1 million barrels of crude oil from Saudi Arabia. The ship had departed from Ras Tanura port in Saudi Arabia on March 3 after loading oil.

The ship transmitted its last signal near the Strait of Hormuz on March 9. After that the ship’s Automatic Identification System (AIS) was switched off for some time. Probably during this time the ship crossed this strait. Later he again started appearing on the ship monitoring system.

Industry sources said that after the tanker reached Mumbai port on Wednesday, the process of unloading oil from the ship has started. Apart from this, another oil tanker has also reached Indian waters carrying about 2 million barrels of Iraqi crude oil. This huge Indian-flagged tanker is headed towards Paradip, where the Indian Oil Corporation’s refinery is located.

India imports about 88 percent of its total oil needs and the bulk of it comes from West Asia through the Strait of Hormuz. In such a situation, the Indian government has contacted Iranian officials to ensure uninterrupted supply of oil and gas through the strait.

Meanwhile, there have also been unconfirmed reports that Iran has agreed to allow Indian flagged ships safe passage through the strait. However, External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal refused to qualify these reports as true or false.

He said, “There have been three talks between External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar and Iran’s Foreign Minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi recently. In the last conversation, both sides discussed issues related to maritime security and energy security of India. It is too early to share more details on this. Rajesh Kumar Sinha, Joint Secretary in the Shipping Ministry, said that 28 Indian ships are stuck due to the closure of the Strait of Hormuz. The safety of the sailors aboard these ships is being constantly monitored.