New Delhi: LPG tanker Jag Vikram carrying 20,400 tonnes of cooking gas safely transited the Strait of Hormuz on Saturday, becoming the first Indian-flagged vessel to pass through the conflict-affected maritime chokepoint since the US and Iran announced a two-week temporary ceasefire, Dipak Dash reported. The Jag Vikram is the ninth Indian-flagged ship to leave the Persian Gulf since the war broke out on February 28. Shipping Minister Sarbananda Sonowal said in a post on X that the vessel, carrying 24 seafarers, is expected to arrive in Mumbai on April 15. Currently, another 15 Indian ships remain in the Persian Gulf awaiting instructions to proceed. These include one tanker carrying LPG, four tankers carrying crude oil, one LNG tanker, one tanker carrying chemicals, three container ships and two bulk carriers. Other foreign ships carrying energy products to India are also stuck in the Persian Gulf, officials said. “A total of 16 India-bound ships (Indian and foreign flagged) carrying energy products are waiting west of the Strait of Hormuz. Three of them are carrying LPG, three are carrying LNG and the remaining 10 are carrying crude oil,” an official said.
