In what could potentially be a big relief, Iran has said it would allow India to use the Strait of Hormuz, clearing the way not only for 20 Indian-flagged cargo vessels stranded to its west to pass through the choke point, but also raising hopes that another 18 empty LPG tankers can go through the conflict-hit 52km strait to load cargo.“We have permitted certain countries that we consider friendly to pass through (Strait of Hormuz). We allowed China, Russia, India, Iraq and Pakistan to transit,” Iranian foreign minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi said, according to Iranian State TV. At the same time, he made it clear that ships linked to Iran’s adversaries will not be allowed to transit through the strategic waterway. “The region is a war zone, and there is no reason to allow the ships of our enemies …to pass through,” he said.TOI has learned that a dozen India-bound ships to the west of Hormuz – including five loaded with 2.3 lakh tonnes of LPG – are waiting to cross the strait and head to Indian ports. “The smooth passage of all Indian-flagged ships will improve availability of LPG, LNG and crude in India,” an official keeping a close watch on the developments said. India in Iran’s list of ‘friendly countries’ comes as a surpriseOnce these ships reach Indian ports and discharge the load, they can be sent to pick new consignments,” said the official. “Few of the 20 Indian-flagged vessels in this region are not bound for India but other ports,” the official added.The 18 LPG tankers are waiting to enter the strait to pick up cooking gas from Gulf nations, officials said.Iran’s decision to green flag ships headed for India marks a success for New Delhi’s diplomacy, with PM Modi holding two rounds of talks with Iranian president Masoud Pezeshkian. Modi had asserted that the blockade of the strait (by Iran) was unacceptable. External affairs minister S Jaishankar had also contacted his Iranian counterpart Araghchi with the same request.India’s inclusion in the group that Tehran called “friendly” came as a surprise. Two of the five “friendly countries” mentioned — Russia and China — are seen by Iran as partners in its fight against the US and Israel. The remaining two are the Islamic countries of Turkiye and Pakistan, with the latter anxiously trying to play the intermediary between the Trump administration and the Iranian leadership.India, in normal times, gets around 27-30 LPG tankers every month to meet domestic requirements as it imports 60% of its cooking gas, with 85-90% of this being sourced from Gulf countries, including Saudi Arabia and the UAE. To meet the shortfall, govt is sourcing cooking gas from the US, Argentina, Norway, Canada and Russia, and some cargo has already reached Indian ports through other sea routes.Two LPG vessels — Shivalik and Nanda Devi — reached India last week, while Pine Gas and Jag Vasant are likely to reach this week.According to Kpler, only 138 ships crossed the energy choke point between March 1 and 23, including 87 oil and gas tankers. This translates into 5-6 ships a day, a 95% drop in crossings since the war began. Reports also suggest that more than 1,900 ships are unable to move in the vicinity of the Strait of Hormuz.
