Govt. mulling deploying Indian Navy to escort ships stranded in Persian Gulf: Govt. source

The Indian government is considering deploying Indian Navy ships to escort ships stranded in the Persian Gulf, said a senior government official. Decision will be taken in two days, the source said.

Shipping industry sources estimate that some 10% of the oil tankers and gas carriers stranded in the Persian Gulf are Indian flagged. State-owned Shipping Corporation of India is among the major global ship owners whose ships amounting to more than 8 lakh tonnes of cargo carrying capacity are among the stranded, as per data from Lloyds List Intelligence. This would be equivalent to nearly 6 million barrels of oil.

The International Maritime Organization estimates nearly 20,000 seafarers are onboard the stranded ships. Given that India is a major source of seafarers to global shipping, Indian seafarers stranded would amount to several thousands.

The Indian Navy has conducted extensive operations defending merchant ships including those with Indian seafarers against Houthi attacks as well as Somalian pirates. Operation Sankalp, which was launched to ensure maritime security in the Gulf region, included action against Houthi rebels.

Meanwhile, Iran’s promise to not attack neighbours in the Persian Gulf may give confidence for ships stuck there to move across the Strait of Hormuz and sail away, another highly placed source and decisionmaker in the government said.

“This [the Iranian affirmation] is definitely a positive,” they stated, adding, “It provides increasing confidence [that] cargoes that may have been stuck on one side of the Strait of Hormuz will start moving. [This] would help the overall fuel dynamics as well.” 

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said Saturday that Iran will not target neighbouring countries unless they initiate an attack. 

Further, according to the source, at present India has arranged for alternative supplies. Effectively, 70% of India’s crude oil supplies are now being sourced in such a way that they don’t need to cross the Strait of Hormuz, the source said, adding there will be no increase in retail prices in petrol, diesel and so on.

On Friday, Iran’s Deputy Foreign Affairs Minister Saeed Khatibzadeh, had claimed to The Hindu that Iran was not stopping Indian ships in the strait. “Iran is not stopping Indian ships in the Strait of Hormuz but India must ask the U.S. why it is targeting Iranian ships in the Indian Ocean,” he said, adding, “They are the threat, they should be asked.” 

Indian flagged ships are said to account for some 10% of the oil tankers and gas carriers stranded upstream of Strait of Hormuz after the conflict started.

SoPs for Indian ports

The Union Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Waterways has issued Standard Operating Procedures that would enable Indian ports to permit storage of cargo destined for West Asia as transshipment cargo. The move is expected to help global shipping lines, which have decided to abandon their voyages to Straits of Hormuz, to offload their cargo at available ports in India.

The SoPs lay down several measures to deal with disruptions to shipping due to the West Asia crisis including appointment of nodal officers at ports to handle the situation. The ports shall allow ad-hoc berthing of ships originally planning to call on West Asia ports to discharge their cargo. Priority should be given to perishable cargo as well as cargo returning from the Persian Gulf region due to the disruptions there. Ports have also been asked to ensure export cargoes lying in storage areas to go back to the suppliers in what is termed a “back to town” movement.