India on Friday received the first LNG tanker that had passed through the Strait of Hormuz since the U.S. and Iran announced a deal this past weekend.
The LNG carrier Disha, flying the flag of Malta, arrived at the Dahej Port on India’s West Coast on Friday, after having crossed the Strait of Hormuz earlier this week.
The vessel safely anchored at the Petronet LNG jetty, the Bharuch port authority told Indian media. Petronet LNG had chartered the LNG tanker, which is managed by an India-led shipping consortium.
The Disha cleared the Strait of Hormuz on Monday, June 15, hours after the United States and Iran on Sunday announced a deal to reopen the Strait of Hormuz more than 100 days after its closure.
The tanker had loaded LNG from Qatar’s Ras Laffan in early March, just when the Gulf state halted LNG production and exports amid the closed Strait of Hormuz and Iranian missile hits on its LNG infrastructure at Ras Laffan.
Since the Disha cleared the Strait of Hormuz on June 15, no India-flagged vessel has exited the Persian Gulf, according to Opesh Kumar Sharma, director in India’s Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Waterways.
“As of now, no other Indian-flag vessel has moved out after Disha,” the official told a briefing on Thursday.
Tanker owners and operators await clearance to proceed and are not rushing to test the passage until they have assurances it is safe to do so.
Qatar has started to return LNG tankers back to the Middle East in anticipation of an imminent reopening of the Strait of Hormuz that would allow the world’s second-biggest LNG exporter to start producing and moving LNG supply again.
The situation took another twist early on Friday after Switzerland confirmed the U.S.-Iran talks that were set to begin in Geneva had been postponed.
By Tsvetana Paraskova for Oilprice.com
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