The Indian-flagged LPG tanker Jag Vikram docked at at Kandla Port in Gujarat late Tuesday night, carrying 20,400 metric tonnes of liquefied petroleum gas after successfully navigating the Strait of Hormuz on April 11, making it the first Indian vessel to do so since a US-Iran ceasefire was announced last week.
Owned by Mumbai-based Great Eastern Shipping Company, the vessel had 24 crew members on board. Unloading is expected to begin shortly, officials said.
The transit carries symbolic and strategic weight for New Delhi. Jag Vikram is the ninth Indian vessel to exit the Persian Gulf since early March, while around 15 India-flagged ships remain in the region awaiting passage.
Also Read: Fresh LPG cargo for India clears Starit of Hormuz
Shipping traffic through the Strait of Hormuz has been largely blocked since February 28, 2026, when the United States and Israel launched an air war against Iran. In retaliation, Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps issued warnings forbidding passage and launched 21 confirmed attacks on merchant ships, while also reportedly laying sea mines in the strait. Before the conflict, roughly one-fifth of the world's oil passed through the Strait of Hormuz daily.
The month-long disruption has sparked warnings of an energy shortage worse than the 1970s oil crisis. Fatih Birol, head of the International Energy Agency, called it the worst energy shock the world has ever seen, more severe than the oil crises of the 1970s and the Ukraine war combined.
A temporary ceasefire announced on April 8 offered a brief window of reduced tension, during which Jag Vikram made its crossing. However, the situation deteriorated again: on April 12, JD Vance announced that US-Iran talks in Islamabad had failed, after which Trump declared a US naval blockade of the Strait of Hormuz targeting ships entering or leaving Iranian ports. CENTCOM clarified the blockade would not impede freedom of navigation for vessels going to non-Iranian ports.
Also Read: Oil tankers transiting Strait of Hormuz since start of Iran war
More than 600 vessels, including 325 tankers, remain stranded in the Gulf, according to Lloyd's List Intelligence.
At an inter-ministerial briefing Monday, Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Waterways Additional Secretary Mukesh Mangal said the government is working with the Ministry of External Affairs to bring the remaining 15 stranded Indian-flagged vessels home. "As soon as it is possible for our vessels to sail from the Strait of Hormuz, those vessels will come back," he said.
The DG Shipping Control Room has handled over 6,073 calls and 12,867 emails since activation, and has facilitated the safe repatriation of more than 2,177 Indian seafarers so far, including 93 in the last 24 hours. Mangal also confirmed no incident involving an Indian-flagged vessel had been reported in the preceding 24 hours, and that port operations across India remained normal with no congestion.
Owned by Mumbai-based Great Eastern Shipping Company, the vessel had 24 crew members on board. Unloading is expected to begin shortly, officials said.
The transit carries symbolic and strategic weight for New Delhi. Jag Vikram is the ninth Indian vessel to exit the Persian Gulf since early March, while around 15 India-flagged ships remain in the region awaiting passage.
Also Read: Fresh LPG cargo for India clears Starit of Hormuz
Shipping traffic through the Strait of Hormuz has been largely blocked since February 28, 2026, when the United States and Israel launched an air war against Iran. In retaliation, Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps issued warnings forbidding passage and launched 21 confirmed attacks on merchant ships, while also reportedly laying sea mines in the strait. Before the conflict, roughly one-fifth of the world's oil passed through the Strait of Hormuz daily.
The month-long disruption has sparked warnings of an energy shortage worse than the 1970s oil crisis. Fatih Birol, head of the International Energy Agency, called it the worst energy shock the world has ever seen, more severe than the oil crises of the 1970s and the Ukraine war combined.
A temporary ceasefire announced on April 8 offered a brief window of reduced tension, during which Jag Vikram made its crossing. However, the situation deteriorated again: on April 12, JD Vance announced that US-Iran talks in Islamabad had failed, after which Trump declared a US naval blockade of the Strait of Hormuz targeting ships entering or leaving Iranian ports. CENTCOM clarified the blockade would not impede freedom of navigation for vessels going to non-Iranian ports.
Also Read: Oil tankers transiting Strait of Hormuz since start of Iran war
More than 600 vessels, including 325 tankers, remain stranded in the Gulf, according to Lloyd's List Intelligence.
At an inter-ministerial briefing Monday, Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Waterways Additional Secretary Mukesh Mangal said the government is working with the Ministry of External Affairs to bring the remaining 15 stranded Indian-flagged vessels home. "As soon as it is possible for our vessels to sail from the Strait of Hormuz, those vessels will come back," he said.
The DG Shipping Control Room has handled over 6,073 calls and 12,867 emails since activation, and has facilitated the safe repatriation of more than 2,177 Indian seafarers so far, including 93 in the last 24 hours. Mangal also confirmed no incident involving an Indian-flagged vessel had been reported in the preceding 24 hours, and that port operations across India remained normal with no congestion.
