West Asia Crisis: India's Second LPG Carrier 'Nanda Devi' Arrives at Gujarat port

India’s second LPG carrier ‘Nanda Devi’ arrived safely at Vadinar port in Gujarat on Tuesday, carrying 46,500 metric tonnes of gas after navigating the Strait of Hormuz amid the West Asia conflict, an official said.

The first ship, 'Shivalik', reached Mundra Port in Gujarat on Monday.

'Nanda Devi' has docked at Vadinar port in Devbhumi Dwarka district, and preparations were being made to shift the LPG (liquefied petroleum gas) to the daughter ship, Deendayal Port Authority Chairman Sushil Kumar Singh told reporters.

"A consignment of 46,500 metric tonnes of LPG has been brought in; this cargo will be transferred to a vessel named BW Birch, which will subsequently proceed to discharge portions of the consignment at the ports of Ennore (Tamil Nadu) and Haldia (West Bengal) along the eastern coast," he said.

"The transfer process takes place at a rate of 1,000 tonnes per hour; consequently, the entire operation is expected to take two days to complete," he added.

The port authority at Vadinar is tasked with ensuring that these operations are executed with maximum efficiency, as per the directive of the Ministry of Ports, Singh said.

"This constitutes a standard operational procedure that we have consistently carried out here at Vadinar. However, the current directive issued by the ministry mandates that incoming LPG vessels be accorded top priority; we must ensure that their transfer and discharge processes are completed as expeditiously as possible," he said.

All relevant operational parameters are to be monitored rigorously, with multiple agencies involved in the process, the official noted.

"We visited the vessel and met with its crew members. The 'daughter vessel' is currently en route; upon its arrival, it will berth alongside the 'mother vessel' Nanda Devi, at which point the ship-to-ship transfer operation will commence," he said.

Singh said the ministry has issued a clear directive stipulating that all future incoming LPG vessels must also be handled on a priority basis, strictly adhering to all safety protocols and avoiding the adoption of any shortcuts.

"Our objective is to eliminate any procedural bottlenecks and ensure that the cargo is discharged as quickly as possible," he added.

Gujarat minister Jitu Vaghani on Monday said that LPG carrier Shivalik safely reached Mundra port from Strait of Hormuz amid the West Asia crisis due to the strong diplomatic relations of Prime Minister Narendra Modi with world leaders.

The ship passed safely through the Strait of Hormuz despite global unrest and tensions involving Iran, Israel and other countries, he told the state assembly.

India imports about 88% of its crude oil, 50% of natural gas and 60% of LPG needs. Before the US-Israel strikes on Iran on February 28 and Tehran's retaliation, more than half of India's crude imports, about 30% of gas and 85-90% of LPG imports came from Middle East countries such as Saudi Arabia and the UAE.

The conflict has led to a blockade of the Strait of Hormuz, the main transit route for Gulf energy supplies. While India has partly offset crude supply disruptions by sourcing oil from countries including Russia, gas supplies have been curtailed to industrial users and LPG availability to commercial establishments such as hotels and restaurants has been reduced.

Currently, 22 Indian-flagged vessels with 611 seafarers remain in the western Persian Gulf and efforts are on to secure safe passage for them, as per officials.