Two India carriers secure safe passage through Strait of Hormuz

NEW DELHI — India secured the safe transit of two Indian flagged carriers carrying liquified petroleum gas through the Strait of Hormuz , which Iran has largely blockaded for commercial shipping as the conflict between the United States, Israel and Iran enters its third week.

The tankers crossed the strait Saturday after New Delhi stepped up diplomatic engagement to secure its energy imports.

India is also seeking safe passage for 22 of its vessels that remain stranded west of the strait, according to officials in New Delhi and Indian Foreign Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar has said that he is hopeful that talks with Iran will begin to ease shipping disruptions for the country’s vessels.

India has been grappling with severe shortages of cooking gas supplies since the targeting of several cargo vessels effectively shut off the narrow strait leading to the largest crude oil supply disruption in decades. Roughly half of India’s crude oil and liquified natural gas imports come through this waterway, which lies between Iran and Oman.

New Delhi, which has good relations with the United States, Israel and Iran, has maintained a neutral position on the conflict.

But it has intensified dialogue with Tehran amid the energy squeeze that it faces.

In an interview with the Financial Times , Jaishankar cited the passage of the tankers through the strait as an example of what diplomacy could achieve.

“I am at the moment engaged in talking to them, and my talking has yielded some results,” he said.

However he clarified that there is no formal “blanket arrangement” for Indian-flagged ships and that “every ship movement is an individual happening.”

“Certainly, from India’s perspective, it is better that we reason and we coordinate and we get a solution than we don’t,” Jaishankar said. “So if that sort of allows other people to engage, the world is better off for it.”

U.S. President Donald Trump said Sunday that his administration is talking to seven countries to send warships to keep the Strait of Hormuz open. “I’m demanding that these countries come in and protect their own territory because it is their territory,” Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One on the way from Florida to Washington. “It’s the place from which they get their energy.”

Trump did not name the countries, but previously in a social media post he had urged China, France, Japan, South Korea, Britain and others to help secure the waterway.

India’s foreign ministry said Monday that New Delhi has not engaged in bilateral discussions with the U.S. regarding deploying naval vessels to protect ships through the Strait of Hormuz.

Meanwhile, India has repatriated about 180 crew members of an Iranian warship that had sought sanctuary in India.

It was one of three Iranian warships that were sailing in the Indian Ocean after taking part in naval exercises hosted by New Delhi when hostilities erupted in the Middle East. One was torpedoed by a U.S. submarine while two were given refuge in India and Sri Lanka.

“That was a goodwill gesture. India is not the warring party so it was India’s responsibility to ensure their safety,” according to Chintamani Mahapatra, chairman of the Kalinga Institute of Indo Pacific Studies. “Iran allowing Indian ships to get through the Strait of Hormuz is a vindication of India’s policy of neutrality.”

Sri Lanka has also sent back the bodies of 84 Iranian sailors who died when the warship was sunk. Their bodies were recovered during a rescue operation mounted by the Sri Lankan navy.

新德里——随着美国、以色列和伊朗之间的冲突进入第三周，伊朗已基本封锁霍尔木兹海峡，禁止商业航运通过，印度确保了两艘悬挂印度国旗、载有液化石油气的货轮安全通过。

周六，在新德里加强外交斡旋以确保其能源进口后，这些油轮穿越了海峡。

据新德里官员称，印度也在寻求为仍滞留在海峡西侧的 22 艘船只提供安全通道。印度外交部长苏杰生表示，他希望与伊朗的谈判能够开始缓解该国船只的航运中断问题。

自多艘货船遭到袭击导致狭窄的海峡被有效封锁，并引发数十年来最严重的原油供应中断以来，印度一直面临着严重的液化石油气短缺问题。印度大约一半的原油和液化天然气进口都经由这条位于伊朗和阿曼之间的水道。

新德里与美国、以色列和伊朗保持着良好的关系，在冲突中一直保持中立立场。

但在面临能源短缺的情况下，伊朗加强了与德黑兰的对话。

在接受《金融时报》采访时，贾伊尚卡尔以油轮通过海峡为例，说明了外交可以取得的成就。

“我目前正在与他们交谈，而且我的谈话已经取得了一些成果，”他说。

但他澄清说，对于悬挂印度国旗的船舶，并没有正式的“一揽子安排”，而且“每艘船舶的航行都是一个独立的事件”。

“当然，从印度的角度来看，我们最好是能够理性讨论、协调合作，找到解决方案，而不是无所作为，”贾伊尚卡尔说。“因此，如果这能让其他国家参与进来，世界也会因此受益。”

美国总统特朗普周日表示，他的政府正在与七个国家进行磋商，要求它们派遣军舰维护霍尔木兹海峡的畅通。“我要求这些国家派出军舰保护自己的领土，因为那是他们的领土，”特朗普在从佛罗里达飞往华盛顿的空军一号上对记者说。“那是他们获取能源的地方。”

特朗普没有点名这些国家，但此前他曾在社交媒体上发帖敦促中国、法国、日本、韩国、英国和其他国家帮助确保该水道的安全。

印度外交部周一表示，新德里尚未与美国就部署海军舰艇保护通过霍尔木兹海峡的船只进行双边讨论。

与此同时，印度遣返了约180名在印度寻求庇护的伊朗军舰船员。

当时，伊朗三艘军舰正在印度洋航行，此前它们参加了由新德里主办的海军演习。中东战事爆发时，这三艘军舰之一被击沉。其中一艘被美国潜艇鱼雷击沉，另外两艘分别在印度和斯里兰卡避难。

“那是一种善意姿态。印度并非交战方，因此确保他们的安全是印度的责任，”卡林加印太研究所主席钦塔马尼·马哈帕特拉表示。“伊朗允许印度船只通过霍尔木兹海峡，证明了印度中立政策的正确性。”

斯里兰卡还遣返了在军舰沉没中丧生的84名伊朗水兵的遗体。这些遗体是在斯里兰卡海军发起的救援行动中打捞上来的。