Indian vessel 'Jag Laadki' carrying over 80,000 MT crude oil reaches Gujarat's Mundra Port

Indian-flagged oil tanker Jag Laadki has reached Mundra port in Gujarat after sailing safely from Fujairah in the UAE, despite an attack on the terminal, taking the total number of vessels transiting the conflict-hit zone to four. The tanker, with 80,886 tonne of crude oil sourced from the UAE, departed from Fujairah Port following the incident and completed its voyage to Mundra Port on Wednesday, according to shipping sources. Jag Laadki is the second vessel from the war zone to have reached Adani group's Mundra port. Previously, LPG tanker Shivalik reached the port on Monday. Adani's Mundra port provided the safe berthing of the vessel and maritime coordination in safeguarding vital energy lifelines of India, they said. All 22 Indian seafarers onboard are reported safe.

Originally, there were 28 Indian-flagged vessels in the Strait of Hormuz when the war in West Asia broke out following US-Israel attacks on Iran. Of these, 24 were on the west side of the strait and 4 on the east side. In the last one week, two vessels from each side have managed to sail to safety. LPG carrier Shivalik reached Mundra on Monday while another LPG tanker Nanda Devi reached Kandla port in Gujarat early on Tuesday morning. The two ships carried about 92,712 tonne of LPG - equivalent to a day's requirement of cooking gas in the country. Two LPG carriers started their journey on March 13 and crossed the Strait of Hormuz early on March 14. Another tanker, Jag Prakash, carrying gasoline from Oman to Africa, had previously safely crossed the strait and is en route to Tanzania. This takes the number of Indian-flagged vessels or ships to have safely navigated through the war zone to four. Of the 24 Indian-flagged vessels, 22 are on the west side of the strait with 611 seafarers onboard, while two are on the east side. Of the 22 remaining Indian-flagged vessels on the west side of the Strait of Hormuz, six are LPG carriers, one is a liquefied natural gas (LNG) tanker, four are crude oil tankers, one is transporting chemical products, three are container ships, and two are bulk carriers. Additionally, one vessel is a dredger, another is empty with no cargo, and three are in dry dock undergoing routine maintenance.

The Strait of Hormuz, the narrow waterway that connects the Persian Gulf to the open ocean, has effectively been shut following the US and Israel attack on Iran and Tehran's sweeping retaliation. Overall, close to 500 tanker vessels remain confined within the Persian (Arabian) Gulf. These include 108 crude oil tankers, 166 oil product tankers, 104 chemical/product tankers, 52 chemical tankers and 53 other tanker types. Analysts say Iran may be allowing select vessels to transit the strait after verification. At least 4 vessels have transited outbound the strait in the last couple of days with a short diversion via the Larak-Qeshm Channel. This, they say, appears to be a verification process whereby Iran confirms the ownership, cargo and vessel are not of the US, or belongs to those that Iran has permitted transit to. The ships that have passed are 3 bulk carriers (2 Greek / 1 Indian) and one aframax tanker (Pakistan). India imports about 88 per cent of its crude oil, 50 per cent of natural gas, and 60 per cent of LPG. Before the war broke out, more than half of the crude oil that India imported came from countries like Saudi Arabia, Iraq and the UAE, which use the strait for shipping. As much as 85-95 per cent of LPG and 30 per cent of the gas came through the strait. While the disruption in crude oil has been partially offset through alternative sources, such as Russia, West Africa, the US and Latin America, gas and LPG supplies to industrial and commercial users have been curtailed.