A Liberian-flagged tanker carrying Saudi crude, piloted by an Indian, cleared the Strait of Hormuz two days ago and docked at the Mumbai port, becoming the first India-bound ship to safely transit the waterway, where maritime traffic has almost stopped since the US and Israel attacked Iran.
The Liberian-flagged ship, Xinlong Suezmax, loaded crude from the Saudi port of Ras Tanura on March 1 and set sail two days later. Its last location inside the strait was on March 8, according to marine data companies Llyod’s List Intelligence and TankerTrackers.
Iran has struck commercial ships and threatened not to allow oil to pass through the canal, except for those bound for China, rendering one of the world’s most vital trade routes unviable. Nearly a fifth of the world’s crude oil passes through the strait.
The Mumbai-headed ship then went “dark,” indicating it had turned off its transponders and automatic identification system to avoid detection as it navigated the risky zone before reappearing in tracking databases on March 9, a person familiar with the matter said.
Port officials said that the ship reached the Mumbai port at 1 pm on Wednesday and docked at 6.06 pm.
“The Shenlong is carrying 1,35,335 metric tons of crude oil. It is anchored at Jawahar Dwip and has started unloading the crude cargo,” said Praveen Singh, Deputy Superintendent, Mumbai Port Authority (MbPA). The crude will go to refineries in Mahul, east of Mumbai.
The Shipping Ministry did not immediately respond to a request for details about the tanker, owned by Shenlong Shipping Ltd and operated by Athens-based Dynacom Tanker Management Ltd.
“There are 29 Indian, Pakistani and Filipino crew on board, while the ship’s captain is Sukshant Singh Sandhu. It will take the ship nearly 36 hours to unload the cargo,” said Jitendra Jadhav, who works for Atlantic Global Shipping, which handles Shenlong in Mumbai.
The tanker’s safe passage is likely to ease some of the growing concerns in Asia’s third-largest economy about energy shortages, as more than half of India’s crude oil and gas supplies pass through the strait.
However, 28 Indian-flagged ships remain in or near the waterway since the outbreak of war, according to India’s Directorate General of Shipping.
As many as eight Indian-flagged ships that were east of the Strait of Hormuz when the war broke out have moved to safer seas. According to the situation report issued by the Director General of Shipping, over the past few days, seven such ships – Desh Mahima, Desh Abhiman, Swarna Kamal, Vishva Prerna, Jag Virat, Jag Lokesh and LNG C Asim – have made their way into the Arabian Sea. Another ship, Jag Lakshya, headed to Angola.
Many ships have chosen to deactivate their AIS transponders or assume Chinese identity amid widespread spoofing and signal jamming to exit the Strait of Hormuz unharmed. “There are no official restrictions by the government on Indian-flagged vessels to sail from the strait. However, they have to assess the threats and have proper situational awareness if they decide to sail,” an official said separately.
