Two Indian-flagged LPG tankers carrying roughly a day’s cooking gas requirement for the country have begun transit through the Strait of Hormuz, even as the government said LPG availability “is still a concern” amid ongoing tensions in West Asia.
The vessels, started movement from the Persian Gulf on Monday morning and have navigated the strategic waterway, according to ship tracking data and an inter-ministerial briefing. “The movement has started,” Rajesh Kumar Sinha, special secretary in the ministry of ports, shipping and waterways, said, adding that such ships typically take “2 to 2.5 days” to reach India from the Gulf.
According to shipping ministry, two Indian flag LPG carriers, Jag Vasant and Pine Gas, carrying 92,612.59 MT of LPG, have transited through the Strait of Hormuz today evening.
What did the ministry say?
“The vessels have 33 and 27 Indian seafarers onboard respectively. These vessels are destined for India and are likely to reach Ports between 26th & 28th March, 2026,” the statement said.
The two vessels sailed close to each other and crossed waters between Iran’s Larak and Qeshm islands before navigating the Strait of Hormuz. Their movement follows the earlier transit of two LPG carriers: Shivalik and Nanda Devi, which have already reached Indian shores carrying about 92,700 metric tonne of LPG.
The Strait of Hormuz remains critical for India’s energy supplies, with 85–95% of LPG imports and 30% of gas supplies routed through it.
The conflict in West Asia had led to multiple Indian-flagged vessels being stranded in the region.
According to the shipping ministry, 22 Indian-flagged vessels remain in the area, including six LPG carriers, one LNG tanker, four crude oil tankers, one chemical carrier, three container vessels and two bulk carriers.
Of these, LPG vessels are chartered by BPCL and HPCL, while crude oil tankers are linked to Indian Oil Corporation (IOC), Reliance Industries Ltd, and BGN International. The LNG vessel is chartered by Petronet LNG Ltd.
Of the stranded cargo, one LNG tanker carrying about 2 lakh tonne, six LPG vessels carrying about 3.2 lakh tonne, and four crude tankers carrying about 1.6 million tonne of crude oil remain on the western side of the strait.
Sinha said, “Ultimately, we want to secure safe passage of all our vessels that are stranded in the region,” adding, “Till then safe passage happens, the well-being and safety of our seafarers is our prime focus.”
The government said around 600 Indian seafarers remain onboard these vessels after some personnel were repatriated. “No congestion has been reported at any ports,” Sinha said, adding that seafarers continue to be brought back to India.
The movement of the LPG tankers comes even as the petroleum ministry flagged supply-side pressure in cooking gas. Sujata Sharma, joint secretary in the ministry of petroleum and natural gas, said “crude oil inventories remain adequate,” but added that LPG supply “is still a concern yet no dry out has been reported.”
She said domestic LPG currently meets 50–60 per cent of demand, with authorities sourcing cargoes from multiple origins “wherever available”.
To ease demand, the government has pushed for a shift to piped natural gas (PNG). Sharma said around 1.9 lakh consumers have migrated from LPG to PNG so far, while 3.5 lakh new commercial and domestic PNG connections have been rolled out in the past three weeks.
Addressing reports of reduced refill quantities, she said claims of lowering LPG supply to around 10 kg in standard cylinders are “highly speculative”.
The government has also increased commercial LPG allocation across states and Union Territories, with about 15,800 tonnes already supplied, prioritising sectors such as restaurants, dhabas, hotels, industrial canteens and community kitchens.
Officials said no fuel dry-outs have been reported at retail outlets or LPG distributorships, and urged consumers to avoid panic buying. Sharma also appealed to consumers to “try to conserve LPG and LNG”.