Sarv Shakti, a Marshall Islands-flagged liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) tanker bound for India, has passed through the Strait of Hormuz. The supertanker is the first India-bound vessel to transit the Strait of Hormuz since the United States imposed its blockade on Iran-linked ships.
According to Bloomberg, The Indian Express and other foreign media on the 3rd (local time), shipping information site MarineTraffic confirmed that Sarv Shakti exited the Strait of Hormuz and entered the Gulf of Oman the previous day.
Carrying approximately 45,000 tons of LPG, Sarv Shakti identified itself on its Automatic Identification System (AIS) as an India-bound vessel with Indian crew on board, and the cargo owner is known to be state-run Indian Oil Corp. (IOC). Sarv Shakti is scheduled to arrive at Visakhapatnam, a port on India's east coast, around the 13th.
The route taken by Sarv Shakti had been designated as an alternative passage by Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC). It remains unknown whether the vessel paid a toll to Iran. On the 1st, the US Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) warned global shipping companies that "requesting assurances from the Iranian regime of safe passage in exchange for payments or non-aggression could result in sanctions regardless of nationality."
The Indian Express reported that "the volume of LPG carried by this tanker is equivalent to roughly half a day's consumption in India before the Middle East war broke out in late February," adding that "expectations are growing that this vessel's passage will enable more energy to reach India."
India typically imports about 40% of its crude oil, 50% of its liquefied natural gas (LNG) and 90% of its LPG through the Strait of Hormuz, but has faced severe difficulties in energy supply due to the current war.
