New Delhi: Amid the escalating war in West Asia and the closure of the Strait of Hormuz, India has offered relief to shipping and cargo owners, allowing stranded vessels to temporarily dock at its ports at reduced charges, including anchorage fee, berth hire and storage charges, Rajesh Kumar Sinha, special secretary in the ministry of ports, shipping and waterways, said.
The Jawaharlal Nehru Port Authority (JNPA), which operates India’s largest container port in Navi Mumbai, has provided temporary transshipment storage for containers bound for West Asia and granted 100% rebate on ground rent and dwell time charges and around 80% rebate on reefer container plug-in charges for up to 15 days for containers originating at JNPA, Sinha added.
Dwell time refers to the duration a container stays at the port terminal after it arrives until it leaves.
He added that, along with two liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) tankers scheduled to arrive on 16 and 17 March, a crude carrier carrying 80,800 metric tonnes (mt) of Murban crude oil from the United Arab Emirates (UAE) is safely en route to India.
Sticky Hormuz
Six more LPG tankers and four more crude cargoes – all India-bound and India-flagged – are currently stranded at the western side of the Strait of Hormuz.
Further, in a bid to ease pressure on LPG supplies in the country, city gas distribution networks have started offering incentives for consumers to shift to piped natural gas (PNG) from LPG, including free gas worth. ₹500 by Indraprastha Gas Ltd, a joint venture of state-run oil marketing companies, Sujata Sharma, joint secretary, marketing and oil refinery, ministry of petroleum and natural gas, said.
“At present, 22 Indian-flagged vessels with 611 seafarers remain in the west of the Persian Gulf region. The Directorate General of Shipping continues to monitor the situation in coordination with ship owners, RPSL agencies and Indian Missions,” said Sinha.
“Of the two Indian-flagged LPG carriers that crossed the Strait of Hormuz on 14 March carrying about 92,712 mt of LPG, vessel Shivalik is scheduled to berth at Mundra Port around 1700 hrs today with documentation completed to ensure priority discharge, while vessel Nanda Devi is expected to reach early tomorrow morning,” he added, while addressing the media on the developments in West Asia.
The vessel named Shivalik arrived at the Mundra port Monday evening.
He further said that major ports across the country are closely monitoring vessel movements and cargo operations and providing support to shipping lines and cargo stakeholders, including concessions in anchorage, berth hire and storage charges.
Ports are coordinating with Customs and other stakeholders to facilitate cargo operations, he added.
PNG shift
Addressing the media on fuel stock situation in the country, Sharma said that the domestic production of LPG in the country has increased 36% since the start of the war in February.
On the incentives being offered to potential PNG consumers, Sharma said: “Several CGD companies are offering incentives to promote PNG connections, including free gas worth ₹500 for domestic consumers by Indraprastha Gas Ltd. and GAIL Gas Ltd., waiver of registration charges of ₹500 for domestic PNG consumers and security deposits for commercial consumers by Mahanagar Gas Ltd., and waiver of security deposits for all commercial connections by BPCL.”
Further, the government is also expanding the CGD network and Petroleum and Natural Gas Regulatory Board has advised city gas distribution (CGD) entities to accelerate deployment of resources, encourage utilization of existing connections and reduce timelines for supply commencement.
Earlier, the petroleum ministry had suggested domestic and commercial LPG consumers in the proximity of CGD networks to shift to PNG. According to the petroleum ministry, there are about 60 lakh household LPG consumers who can shift to PNG in the short term.
On the fuel stock scenario, Sharma said refineries are operating at high capacity and maintaining adequate crude oil inventories. India remains self-sufficient in petrol and diesel production and no imports of these fuels are required to meet domestic demand.
Crude oil prices eased on Monday after Fatih Birol, executive director of the International Energy Agency (IEA), said that member countries could release more oil into the market later, “as and if needed”. Already, IEA member countries have agreed to release a total of 400 million barrels from their reserves.
The April contract of the benchmark Brent crude was trading at $102.07 per barrel, about 1.% lower from its previous close. The April contract of West Texas Intermediate on the NYMEX fell 3.43% to $95.32 per barrel.
