With the second LPG tanker Nanda Devi docking at a Gujarat port early on Tuesday after transiting the Strait of Hormuz, the Indian Navy has stepped up efforts to secure energy shipments by deploying two naval task forces to assist and escort vessels carrying crude oil and gas through the sensitive corridor, which Iran has blocked for commercial trading following the war with the US and Israel.
Naval task forces deployed to secure energy routes
A task force means two groups of ships under orders to escort and support the movement of merchant vessels, Navy officials explained, without getting into the details of the number of maritime platforms deployed to ensure the safe passage of India-bound energy tankers.
Selective passage through Strait raises concerns
According to US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, Iran has allowed only some Indian and Chinese fuel tankers to pass through the Strait, which connects the Gulf of Oman with the Arabian Sea, while it has struck many others, driving up global oil prices.
India has managed an initial breakthrough, benefiting from behind-the-scenes diplomacy, but it’s trying to secure safe passage for 22 stranded vessels to overcome an energy shortage, including cooking gas.
No blanket clearance for Indian ships
External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar, in an interview with a foreign newspaper, clarified that Iran has not agreed to any “blanket arrangement”, giving nod to all Indian flag-bearing ships to cross the Strait of Hormuz. Instead, clearance is taking place ship by ship, according to the Minister.
India rules out joining US-led naval coalition
However, India is unlikely to join a naval coalition sought by US President Donald Trump to deploy warships in the Strait, the route for one-fifth of global oil shipments, to ensure the safe passage of oil and gas tankers. The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) made it clear that no talks with the Trump administration or any other country have taken place to date on the Washington proposal to deploy warships to escort vessels through the key energy route.
Former Deputy National Security Advisor Pankaj Sharan seconded the MEA, and stated that “Trump has said that India, China and Japan are all victim countries because they import energy. I don’t think we will let the Indian Navy work under any trans-national force..”
Strategic autonomy guides naval operations
Earlier, too, the Indian Navy had refused to join a US-led coalition and preferred a “strategic autonomy”, deploying at least a dozen warships at the peak of attacks on merchant vessels in the Red Sea by Houthis more than two years ago.
Under Operation Sankalp, the Indian Navy, through its robust presence in the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden since December 2023, reportedly responded to over 25 incidents, probed over 250 vessels, and ensured the safety of over 230 merchant ships.