The Union government on Saturday confirmed that two Indian-flagged vessels carrying liquefied petroleum gas have crossed the Strait of Hormuz.

The ships, which crossed the strategic waterway on Friday night and Saturday morning, are expected to reach ports in Gujarat by March 17, the Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Waterways said.

The ships Shivalik and Nanda Devi were among the 24 Indian-flagged vessels stranded in the Gulf after the conflict in West Asia broke out on February 28.

Iran has effectively blocked the Strait of Hormuz for most international commercial vessels. About 20% of global petroleum supply passes through the maritime chokepoint.

This has affected LPG supplies in India. The country imports about 60% of its LPG demand, most of it from Gulf countries. The disruption has led to several eateries being temporarily shut, and long queues outside LPG godowns and agencies.

On Saturday, Rajesh Kumar Sinha, special secretary at the ministry, said that the two ships that had crossed the strait are together carrying 92,700 tonnes of LPG.

India’s daily LPG consumption is about 80,000 tonnes, according to The Hindu.

The official added that one of the ships will arrive at the port in Mundra on Monday and the other at Kandla on Tuesday.

Twenty-two Indian-flagged vessels, with 611 seafarers onboard, remain in the region, the ministry said.

The ministry further said that of these 22 Indian vessels, six are carrying LPG, four crude oil, one is a liquefied natural gas tanker and one has chemical products. Three are container ships and two bulk carriers, or vessels that carry large quantities of unpackaged dry cargo.

One is a dredger and one is an empty ballast ship, or a ship without cargo. The remaining three are at dry docks, or under maintenance, the ministry added.

On Friday, the Union government acknowledged that the supply of LPG in the country was a “matter of concern”, but added that no distributor had run out of stocks.

“LPG is a matter of concern for us as most of our imports travel through the Strait of Hormuz,” Sujata Sharma, joint secretary (marketing and oil refinery) in the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas, had said. “But despite this, no dry out has been reported at any of our 25,000 distributors.”

The official urged citizens not to believe in rumours and to refrain from panic buying. However, she urged consumers who can shift from LPG to piped natural gas to do so immediately.

Sharma said that there are currently 60 lakh households who can make the shift.

On Friday, Iran’s ambassador to India indicated that India-bound vessels could soon receive safe passage through the Strait of Hormuz, adding that Tehran will try its “best to remove the problems”.

“I think you can expect good news in the near future,” Mohammad Fathali told reporters in Delhi when asked about whether Iran would allow India-bound ships safe transit through the strait.

“India and I are friends…We have common interests, we have common faith,” Fathali said. “Suffering of the people of India is our suffering and vice versa. And for this reason, the Government of India helps us, and we should help the Government of India…”

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