An LPG tank vessel proudly flying Marshall Island flag, which had crossed the highly guarded Strait of Hormuz with almost 20,000 tonnes of liquefied petroleum gas or LPG, safely reached the port of Kandla in Gujarat state with its cargo intact.
The ship, dubbed with the name “Symi”, then transited the crucial seahanse on May 13 before arriving in India’s west coast. The arrival is timely as much of the world’s attention is currently on the Strait of Hormuz, one of the world’s busiest energy shipping lanes, which links the Persian Gulf with international shipping lanes.
Oil and gas transit across the route are becoming increasingly constrained due to heightened tensions associated with the current U.S.-Iran conflict, which could jeopardize global oil supplies and trade.
The high cost of energy has already begun to have an impact on consumers and businesses in India. The commercial LPG prices have skyrocketed in the past few weeks following the hike in state-run oil companies by ₹993 and ₹261.50 per cylinder with 19 kg filling and 5 kg commercial LPG cylinder respectively. The increase has had a huge impact on migrant workers, vendors along the road, community homes, canteens and micro and small enterprises that rely on LPG for their daily survival.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi recently called on the general public to conserve energy, especially fuel, in view of tightening energy security risks to the country due to various disruptions in the global logistic chain.
The arrival of the tanker, which industry experts believe was a success, gives domestic supplies of LPG a temporary reprieve, but anxiety about energy supply and shipping insecurity in West Asia persists.