India Steps Up Diplomacy to Steer 22 Flagged Vessels and 611 Seafarers Out of Persian Gulf Warzone

India is intensifying a complex diplomatic and operational push to secure safe passage for 22 India-flagged vessels and 611 Indian seafarers currently in the conflict-hit Persian Gulf, even as crucial energy cargoes begin to reach home ports. New Delhi’s immediate focus is on getting its own flagged tankers and crews out of harm’s way, with foreign-flagged but India-bound ships seen as the next priority once these high-risk evacuations are stabilised.

On Monday, Shipping Corporation of India’s LPG tanker Shivalik arrived at Mundra in Gujarat with over 46,000 tonnes of LPG, roughly equivalent to about half a day of India’s typical LPG demand, after safely transiting the highly militarised Strait of Hormuz late last week. Authorities had pre-arranged advance paperwork and priority discharge for the vessel to ensure that its critical cargo could be moved quickly into the domestic supply chain amid growing concerns about cooking gas availability. Two more energy tankers are slated to reinforce these flows on Tuesday: SCI’s LPG carrier Nanda Devi, also carrying more than 46,000 tonnes of LPG, is headed for Kandla, while Great Eastern Shipping’s crude tanker Jag Laadki is due at Mundra with around 80,800 tonnes of crude.

Nanda Devi crossed the Strait of Hormuz on Saturday morning, navigating a stretch that has become the focal point of regional hostilities and military deployments. Jag Laadki did not need to transit the Strait, as it was loading at Fujairah on the Gulf of Oman side when the oil terminal there came under attack on Saturday; both ship and crew remained safe and the vessel sailed for India on Sunday. Another Indian-owned tanker, Jag Prakash, has also exited the broader conflict zone in recent days, departing Sohar in Oman with a gasoline cargo bound for Tanga in Tanzania, again without crossing the Strait. A small number of foreign-flagged tankers carrying oil to India also managed to pass through Hormuz last week, indicating that limited commercial traffic is still flowing despite elevated risks.

The Ministry of External Affairs has underlined that India’s response remains firmly diplomatic, distancing itself from suggestions of any quid pro quo with Iran for the safe passage of India-flagged ships. Spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal emphasised that India’s dealings with Tehran are rooted in a long history of engagement and are “not an exchange issue”, responding to questions on whether any concessions were offered in return for recent successful transits. He also confirmed that India has not entered into bilateral discussions with the United States on the latter’s call for countries to deploy warships to secure freedom of navigation through Hormuz, even as the proposal is being debated in various international forums.

At the highest political level, New Delhi has ramped up outreach to regional stakeholders, tying maritime safety directly to India’s energy security. Prime Minister Narendra Modi recently spoke with Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian, stressing “unhindered transit of goods and energy” as a central Indian concern amid the ongoing West Asia conflict. External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar has held multiple conversations with his Iranian counterpart Abbas Araghchi, with the continuity of oil, LNG and LPG flows to India figuring prominently in those talks. According to the MEA, Indian officials remain in constant contact with all relevant governments at political and diplomatic levels to ensure that Indian vessels can transit safely and without disruption.

Fresh data from the Shipping Ministry underlines how exposed India’s maritime energy lifeline is to disruptions in and around Hormuz. Of the 22 India-flagged vessels currently in the Persian Gulf, six are LPG tankers, four are crude oil tankers, one is an LNG carrier and one is a chemical or petroleum products tanker, all loaded with energy cargoes, alongside three container ships, two bulk carriers, one dredger, one empty ship and three vessels in dry dock for maintenance. India sources between 2.5 and 2.7 million barrels per day of crude oil through the Strait—around half of its total crude imports in recent months, compared with a longer-term average of about 40%—primarily from Iraq, Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Kuwait, while continuing to avoid Iranian crude due to US sanctions. The dependence is even tighter for gas: roughly 60% of India’s LNG and about 90% of its LPG imports move via the Strait of Hormuz, magnifying the systemic risk posed by any prolonged disruption in the war-affected corridor.

For Indian maritime and logistics stakeholders, the safe arrival of Shivalik, the expected calls of Nanda Devi and Jag Laadki, and the gradual movement of other tankers offer some immediate relief but do little to dilute the structural vulnerability of key energy supply chains to geopolitical shocks in West Asia. The unfolding episode highlights the crucial role of coordinated diplomacy, port readiness and real-time shipping operations in keeping India’s oil and gas flows running, even as policymakers and industry weigh longer-term diversification and risk-mitigation strategies for trade that must cross the narrow, volatile chokepoint of the Strait of Hormuz.