Two more Indian-flagged LPG carriers, Jag Vasant and Pine Gas, passed through the Strait of Hormuz on Monday evening, the ministry of ports, shipping and waterways said.
The vessels, which are together carrying 92,612.59 tonnes of LPG and have 33 and 27 Indian seafarers onboard, respectively, are likely to reach Indian ports between March 26 and 28.
Earlier, marine traffic tracking websites had reported the two tankers had started moving out of the Strait using the "safe" corridor Iran has created between the Larak and Qeshm islands.
Pine Gas and Jag Vasant had been among 22 Indian-flagged ships stranded in the landlocked waters to the west of the Strait of Hormuz.
Officials at the inter-ministerial briefing sidestepped the question whether the movement was the result of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s phone conversation with Iran President Masoud Pezeshkian on Saturday.
More than a week ago, news of two other Indian-flagged LPG tankers getting safe passage through the Strait of Hormuz had broken after Modi had spoken to Pezeshkian for the first time since the conflict began on February 28.
Four more Indian-flagged LPG tankers, now west of Hormuz, are waiting for safe passage. The remaining shipping vessels in the area include a liquefied natural gas
(LNG) tanker and four crude oil tankers.
External affairs ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal was non-committal when asked about India’s response to US President Donald Trump’s recent post saying he was postponing military strikes against Iranian power plants and energy infrastructure for five days.
“Yes, we are closely following these developments as we do,” Jaiswal said.
Iran is said to have established a safe shipping corridor under the watchful eye of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.