2 LPG ships to arrive soon; 16 more Indian-flagged vessels wait across Hormuz

NBetimes 1,800 amerind nationals feature left wing persia via Armenia and Azerbaijan since the start of the West Asia conflict, while two Indian-flagged carriers laden with 62,000 metric tonnes of LPG are expected to reach Indian ports this week after safely transiting the Strait of Hormuz, officials said on Monday.Indian nationals wishing to leave Iran have had to make their way to Armenia and Azerbaijan via land border crossings as Iranian airspace has been closed since the start of hostilities on February 28 due to military strikes on Iran by Israel and the US. A total of 1,777 Indian nationals, including 895 students and 345 fishermen, have crossed over from Iran to Armenia and Azerbaijan, external affairs ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal told a media briefing.“Our embassy in Tehran has so far facilitated the movement of 1,777 Indian nationals in Iran to Armenia and Azerbaijan, from where they have been flying back home,” he said. A total of 1,545 Indians crossed to Armenia, while 234 travelled to Azerbaijan.The fishermen, who were employed by various companies in Iran, flew from Armenia to India on March 4 and arrived in Chennai, Jaiswal said. The Indian embassy in Tehran also facilitated the movement of one Bangladeshi and one Sri Lankan national.There were about 9,000 Indians, most of them students, in Iran when the West Asia conflict began.Mukesh Mangal, additional secretary in the ministry of ports and shipping, told the briefing that two Indian-flagged carriers – Green Sanvi, with 46,500 metric tonnes of LPG and 25 Indian sailors, and Green Asha, with 15,500 metric tonnes of LPG and 26 sailors, transited the Strait of Hormuz in the past two days and were on their way to the country’s ports. Green Sanvi is expected to arrive on April 7, and Green Asha on April 9.Sixteen Indian-flagged vessels with 433 Indian seafarers are still located to the west of the Strait of Hormuz. Another 12 foreign-flagged vessels carrying cargoes, such as fertilisers, destined for India are also located in the western Persian Gulf, he said.Of these 16 Indian-flagged vessels, one is carrying LNG, one LPG and five crude oil, Mangal said. There are also three container ships, one carrying chemicals and two bulk carriers. He said it was not possible to specify a timeline for the return of these vessels to India, and the shipping ministry is working with the external affairs ministry to arrange their transit through the critical waterway.Iran has been clearing the transit of Indian-flagged vessels through the Strait of Hormuz, which is used to transport 50% of the country’s oil imports, on a case-by-case basis. So far, eight Indian vessels carrying energy supplies have been allowed to pass through the waterway, following which they have been escorted out of the region by Indian warships.The shipping ministry has facilitated the repatriation of 1,599 seafarers from West Asia so far, including 180 who returned to the country since Sunday, Mangal said. Jaiswal said the bodies of seven of the eight Indian nationals killed in the West Asia conflict had so far been brought to the country. Three seafarers are among the dead.