India is preparing to send oil tankers through the Strait of Hormuz for the first time since the Iran conflict began, according to reports from The Hindu BusinessLine. The plans are finalized and ships will start attempting to cross the strait once the government gives its final approval, as confirmed by people familiar with the matter. This represents a significant shift as shipping through Hormuz, which handles roughly a fifth of global oil flows, has been virtually halted since the Iran war began at the end of February.
State-owned Shipping Corp. of India is ready to go back to the Persian Gulf once it has approval from the Indian Navy and it has business from oil refiners, according to sources cited by The Hindu BusinessLine. However, it remains unclear whether Iran or the US, which are separately blockading the strait and surrounding waters amid the war, have given India a green light to send ships through the waterway. Their agreement will be critical for the plan to work effectively.
India wants to continue importing energy from its traditional Middle East oil producers because supplies from alternate sources would take a longer time to reach the country and be costlier, as reported by The Hindu BusinessLine. The energy crisis has put a strain on India's economy, with Prime Minister Narendra Modi urging citizens to save fuel and foreign exchange amid surging oil bills and a plunge in the rupee to a record low. While India has stepped up purchases of crude from Russia and other suppliers, it remains heavily reliant on purchases from the Middle East.
India's Navy has doubled the number of warships in the region and increased aerial surveillance to monitor the area, according to sources cited by The Hindu BusinessLine. Warships are escorting Indian-flagged ships and vessels headed to India once they safely exit the strait. The government recently launched a marine insurance initiative to provide uninterrupted coverage for Indian ships and cargoes operating in high-risk waters, including the Strait of Hormuz.
India's External Affairs Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar met his Iranian counterpart Abbas Araghchi in New Delhi on the sidelines of a BRICS summit last week, as reported by The Hindu BusinessLine. While non-Iranian oil has dribbled out through Hormuz since the war began, the precise conditions allowing those transits have been patchy and unclear, with flows remaining at a tiny fraction of their pre-conflict levels.
