Two India-bound tankers cross Strait of Hormuz — shipping ministry

NEW DELHI - Two Indian-flagged tankers carrying liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) have safely passed through the Strait of Hormuz, India's shipping ministry said Saturday, marking a rare exception in the critical naval chokepoint disrupted by the Mideast war.

Tehran has all but halted maritime traffic in the Strait of Hormuz, through which about a fifth of global crude oil and liquefied natural gas normally pass.

"They crossed the Strait of Hormuz early morning safely and are en route to India," Rajesh Kumar Sinha, India's special secretary of the ministry of ports, shipping and waterways told reporters at a news briefing in New Delhi on Saturday.

The tankers "Shivalik" and "Nanda Devi", carrying around 92,700 metric tonnes of LPG, are expected to arrive in the next couple of days and are bound for the western ports of Mundra and Kandla.

India is the world's fourth largest buyer of liquefied natural gas (LNG) and second-largest buyer of LPG, which is used for cooking and predominantly sourced from the Middle East.

As supplies dwindle, New Delhi ordered tighter controls Tuesday over natural and cooking gas following import disruptions.

India's Ministry of Petroleum said the new rules would "ensure equitable distribution and continued availability for priority sectors".

The ministry ordered that LNG supplies be prioritised to supply households, transport sectors and the production of LPG.

Indian industries, including several ceramics and tile firms, have already said they are facing a cutback in gas supplies that could impact production.

While restaurants and hotels across India have also warned of disruptions to operations, after a separate ministry order on Monday prioritised the domestic LPG supplies to households.

The safe passage of the two Indian vessels follows talks between New Delhi and Tehran in recent days.

Indian Foreign Minister S. Jaishankar made two posts to X this week confirming talks with his Iranian counterpart, Abbas Araghchi.

He said the pair had "agreed to remain in touch" after having a "detailed conversation... on the latest developments regarding the ongoing conflict" in the Middle East.

In a later post Jaishankar said the pair discussed "bilateral matters" and "BRICS-related issues".

On Thursday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said he spoke with Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian and discussed the transit of goods and energy from the Gulf.

India has also given safe harbour to 183 sailors from Iranian vessel, IRIS Lavan, that docked in the southern port of Kochi after the war broke out.

On Friday, India's Foreign Ministry spokesman Randhir Jaiswal told reporters that the non-essential crew of IRIS Lavan, boarded a chartered flight in Kochi in southwest India that had flown from Sri Lanka.

The Iranian-chartered flight was carrying the remains of 84 sailors  from Iranian frigate IRIS Dena which was sunk by a US submarine earlier this month just off the coast of Sri Lanka.

The flight arrived in Armenia early Saturday local time, flight-tracking app FlightRadar24 showed.