India’s 3 lakh tonnes of LPG stuck due to Iran-Israel war, government told ‘exit plan’ from Hormuz

New Delhi: Due to tension in the Strait of Hormuz, about 3 lakh metric tonnes of Liquid Petroleum Gas (LPG) of India is stranded. Giving this information on Tuesday, the Shipping Ministry said that many Indian ships are still stuck in the area, but the government is making continuous efforts to get them out safely.

22 Indian ships stranded

Special Secretary of the Shipping Ministry, Rajesh Kumar Sinha told in the press briefing that currently 22 Indian flag ships are stranded in the Strait of Hormuz area. These include 6 LPG carriers, 1 LNG tanker, 4 crude oil tankers and other ships.

A large gas carrier has the capacity to carry approximately 45,000 metric tons of LPG. On this basis, it has been estimated that a total of 3 lakh metric tonnes of LPG is stuck in 6 LPG ships.

Two LPG tankers and one crude oil tanker turned out to be safe.

The good news is that two Indian LPG tankers ‘Shivalik’ and ‘Nanda Devi’ have safely crossed the Strait of Hormuz on 14 March. There was a total of 92,700 metric tons of LPG in both these ships. Apart from this, a crude oil tanker named ‘Jag Ladki’ has also left for India from Fujairah in UAE carrying 81,000 metric tonnes of crude oil.

The news of exchange of ships is wrong

It was claimed in some media reports that India has talked about exchanging ships with Iran. Foreign Ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal clearly rejected these reports. He said that no such discussion has taken place with Iran.

Negotiations continue on exit plan

The government admitted that many ships were still stranded in the Strait of Hormuz. Randhir Jaiswal said that he is in constant touch with Iran and other concerned countries. Talks are going on at the diplomatic level for the safe evacuation of the ships.

He also said that issues like providing humanitarian aid to Iran are also being discussed. India’s first priority is to bring all Indian ships and their crew home safely.