India Seeks Safe Hormuz Pass for Nine Ships as Truce Falters

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(Bloomberg) — India is considering options including holding talks with Iran in order to secure safe passage for at least nine laden tankers waiting in the Persian Gulf, as attacks in the waterway threaten an already fragile interim ceasefire.

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Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government is closely monitoring movement of these vessels loaded with crude oil and liquefied petroleum gas, people familiar with the matter said, asking not to be named because the discussions are private.

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Among other steps, the country’s foreign ministry will contact Iranian authorities over the safety of Indian seafarers in the region, the people said, with hundreds stranded for months since the Strait of Hormuz was effectively closed. That includes the 198 mariners onboard the nine tankers ready to transit through the thoroughfare.

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The government is particularly concerned about crews after at least three Indian seafarers were killed in US strikes on commercial ships in the Gulf of Oman in June, the people said.

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“India calls upon all parties to exercise restraint, de-escalate tensions, and ensure protection of civilians as well as the uninterrupted flow of energy supplies and commerce,” the foreign ministry said in a statement Wednesday.

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An interim peace agreement between the US and Iran in June temporarily increased transits through Hormuz, but those numbers have slowed to a trickle once again after vessels were attacked on Tuesday and the US struck targets in Iran overnight in retaliation.

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Underscoring the threat to the existing temporary agreement, US President Donald Trump, speaking at NATO’s annual summit in Ankara, called peace talks “a waste of time.”

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Still, vessels have continued to transit through the strait on Wednesday — six vessels bound for destinations including India attempted to cross just hours after Tuesday’s strikes. The India-flagged supertanker, Lila Vadinar, safely crossed Hormuz overnight after reversing course earlier from the tip of Oman’s Musandam Peninsula, according to Bloomberg ship-tracking data.

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Since the war started in late February, only about 50 India-bound vessels have transited the strait, the people said. Shipments remain well below normal because Indian buyers have yet to fully resume imports of crude oil, liquefied petroleum gas and liquefied natural gas from Middle Eastern suppliers.

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Almost 40% of India’s crude imports, 60% of its LNG shipments and 90% of LPG inflows passed through Hormuz before the war began. 

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While there are uncertainties, India is “reasonably well prepared,” in case the conflict escalates, Oil Minister Hardeep Singh Puri told NDTV in an interview on Wednesday evening.

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(Updates with comments from India’s foreign and oil ministries from 5th paragraph.)

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