| No permission required to sail through Strait of Hormuz, says govt official | | |
Early Times Report
NEW DELHI, Mar 24: Sailing through the Strait of Hormuz - the only sea channel linking the oil-rich Persian Gulf with open oceans - does not require permission from any country, a senior government official said as more Indian vessels prepared to sail through the war-hit zone. Rejecting talks of stranded Indian vessels in the Persian Gulf being allowed to sail through the strait only after reaching some kind of an agreement with Iran, which controls the narrow shipping lane, Rajesh Kumar Singh, Special Secretary at the Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Waterways, said the movement through strait is taken by shipping companies and their contracting entities after considering safety and other conditions.
Movement of ships through the strait had come to a near halt after the US and Israel launched military strikes against Iran, and Tehran's sweeping retaliation that hit US bases in the Gulf regions as well as Israel.
"No permission is required to sail through the strait," Sinha said at the media briefing on the developments in West Asia. He was asked if New Delhi took permission or paid Iran for the movement of its stranded vessels, particularly those laden with LPG - a commodity that has become scarce in the country following the war.
The strait is covered by international navigation conventions, he said. "There is freedom for navigation through the strait.
Since the strait is narrow, only the entry and exit lanes are demarked which need to be followed by shipping lines.
"The decision to sail (through the strait) is taken between the shipping company and the one which has chartered the ship... it is the decision of the charterer and shipping company when to sail or when not to sail," he said. "Since these are special circumstances, they assess the situation with regard to safety, etc., before deciding. No permission is required."
Two more Indian-flagged LPG tankers, carrying about a day's supply of the country's cooking gas, on Monday crossed the war-hit Strait of Hormuz and are expected to reach Indian shores on March 26/27.
The two ships, carrying 92,612 tonnes of LPG, have 33 and 27 Indian seafarers onboard.
Both LPG tankers sailed through waters between Iran's Larak and Qeshm islands -- possibly to make their identity clear to Iranian authorities before they cross the strait, ship tracking data showed. |
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