A tanker carrying liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) passed through the Strait of Hormuz this weekend en route to India in the first crossing of an India-linked LPG cargo since the U.S. launched a blockade outside the Strait to prevent Iranian oil exports.
The MT Sarv Shakti, chartered by Indian Oil Corporation (IOC), the country’s biggest state refiner, clear the Strait of Hormuz on Saturday and is expected to arrive in Visakhapatnam on May 13, Indian media report, citing an official government statement.
As of early on Monday, May 5, the vessel flying the flag of the Marshall Islands was located in the Arabian Sea after exiting the Strait, data on MarineTraffic showed.
The Sarv Shakti is the first India-linked LPG carrier to cross the Strait since the U.S. implemented in the middle of April a blockade in the Gulf of Oman aimed at preventing Iranian oil-carrying ships from exporting their cargoes.
A handful of LPG carriers had passed the Strait before the U.S. blockade began, but there has been no new India-bound LPG cargo crossings since then.
The cargo on Sarv Shakti would help ease the LPG supply crisis in India, which has forced the government and state-owned enterprises to limit supply and raise prices for industrial users in order to preserve supply for households.
LPG is a key energy source for Indian households, and stranded cargoes in the Middle East have strained the imported supply.
Around 60% of Indian households rely on LPG for their primary cooking fuel, and the blockage at the Strait of Hormuz, from where 90% of all Indian LPG imports pass, has been immediately felt by consumers.
Two weeks ago, India’s government urged local refiners to increase production of liquefied petroleum gas amid the supply crunch resulting from the war in the Middle East. The country has boosted imports of LPG from outside the Middle East, including record volumes from the U.S.
By Tsvetana Paraskova for Oilprice.com
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