The India-flagged Jag Vasant tanker, hauling liquefied petroleum gas from the Persian Gulf, dropped anchor at the west coast offshore terminal of Vadinar on Friday evening, transiting the Strait of Hormuz after being allowed passage by Iran, a spokesperson of Deendayal Port said on Saturday.
The 14-member crew appeared to be in good spirits and were found to be medically fit, said Omprakash Dadlani, a spokesperson of Deendayal Port, which operates the offshore terminal.
The ship anchored at 8 pm Friday, and some reports suggesting it had arrived earlier were incorrect, the official said. It took longer than estimated due to “normal variations” in course. The crew steered the 230-metre-long ship skillfully and were escorted from international waters, according to the official.
The Bharat Petroleum Corp-chartered tanker has a cargo of 47,000 tonnes of LPG, the most widely used cooking fuel in the country, which will be transferred to another ship sometime on Saturday for onward transportation, shipping authorities said.
A second LPG tanker, the Indian Oil Corp-chartered Pine Gas, has reached Indian territorial waters safely, and authorities are scheduled to offer an official confirmation about its details, a second official said.
The tankers made their way through a narrow corridor between the Iranian islands of Larak and Qeshm, a conduit Iran has fixed for vessels permitted by it. This route is being monitored by Iranian forces and its navy, which provided navigation help to two earlier Indian vessels crossing the strait, Indian authorities said.
Two more LPG tankers, Shivalik and MT Nanda Devi, had reached the Indian west coast earlier last week after being cleared by Iran, which has effectively shut down the vital Strait of Hormuz following the US and Israeli attacks on the Islamic Republic late last month. The blockade has halted a fifth of global flows of crude, gas, and precious commodities.