The Indian-flagged tanker Jag Vasant, which transports liquefied petroleum gas from the Persian Gulf, docked at the Vadinar Marine Terminal on the west coast on Friday evening, crossing the Strait of Hormuz after Iran allowed it to pass, a Deendayal port spokesman said on Saturday.
Omprakash Dadlani, spokesman for Deendayal Port, which runs the marine station, said the 14-member crew appeared to be in good spirits and were found to be medically fit.
The official said that the ship docked at eight o’clock on Friday evening, and that some reports indicating its arrival earlier were incorrect. It took longer than expected due to “natural variations” in the route. The official added that the crew skillfully steered the 230-meter-long ship and they were escorted from international waters.
The tanker chartered by BPCL is carrying a cargo of 47,000 tons of LPG, the country’s most widely used cooking fuel, which will be transferred to another ship sometime on Saturday for further transportation, shipping authorities said.
A second LPG tanker, Pine Gas chartered by the Indian Oil Corporation, has arrived in Indian territorial waters safely, and authorities are set to give an official confirmation on its details, a second official said.
The tankers made their way through a narrow passage between the Iranian islands of Lark and Qeshm, a channel designated by Iran for ships allowed through it. Indian authorities said that this route is being monitored by Iranian forces and its naval forces, which provided navigational assistance to two Indian ships that crossed the strait earlier.
Two more LPG tankers, the Shivalik and MT Nanda Devi, arrived on India’s west coast earlier last week after being cleared by Iran, which effectively closed the vital Strait of Hormuz in the wake of US and Israeli attacks on the Islamic Republic late last month. The blockade has halted a fifth of global flows of crude oil, gas and precious commodities.
