Iran creating corridor for safe exit of India-bound ships: Lloyds List

Iran is putting together an approval process for allowing safe passage of ships through the Strait of Hormuz, according to Lloyds List Intelligence (LLI), a maritime data and intelligence company.

India, which has been in direct talks with Tehran, has earmarked 22 India-bound vessels for evacuation including 20 ships assessed as critical to India’s energy security.

Iran-Israel war updates on March 19, 2026

“Automatic Identification System data, while sparse, suggests India’s LPG carrier Shivalik took an unusual route around Iran’s Larak Island and through Iranian territorial waters so IRGC Navy and port authority could assess visual confirmation of the identity of the vessel,” Richard Meade, the editor-in-chief of Lloyd’s List Intelligence, told The Hindu. 

After making payment

LLI has reported that nine ships have exited through Iran’s supposedly safe corridor and at least one tanker was allowed to pass through for payment of $2 million to Iran.

Reliable sources in India, meanwhile, said that with the situation in West Asia continuing to escalate, Indian ships stuck in the Strait of Hormuz for more than two weeks have been asked to “stay put” for now. The process for Indian ships and others has been paused after the Israeli strikes on Iran’s largest gas fields at South Pars, they said.

Last week on March 12, after Prime Minister Narendra Modi spoke to Iran’s President Masoud Pezeshkian, officials said they began talks on 24 ships, then stranded to the west of Hormuz. Iran said they would allow two Indian ships along with those of a few other countries to pass the strait.

The vessels that were allowed to pass were asked to traverse “through a specific route close to the Iranian coast”, a source confirmed. This is a move, according to security analysts, that would also protect Iran’s coastal security infrastructure from attacks by the U.S. and Israel.

In addition, sources said that Iranian authorities had initially suggested that Indian ships spread out across the crowded waters come closer together, so as to help with clearance.

Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi had said during the start of the week that the Strait of Hormuz remains operational but Iran will not permit vessels linked to the United States and Israel to pass through.

U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent had told CNBC on Monday (March 16, 2026) that the U.S. is allowing Iranian oil tankers to transit the Strait of Hormuz. “The Iranian ships have been getting out already, and we’ve let that happen to supply the rest of the world,” Mr. Bessent said.