New Delhi: Two India-flagged vessels carrying liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) have exited the western side of the Strait of Hormuz and are expected to reach Indian ports early next week, the government said Saturday.
Later in the day, the Centre issued order prohibiting those with PNG connections from retaining or availing domestic LPG connections/cylinders. The order was called the Petroleum Gas (Regulation of Supply and Distribution) Amendment Order, 2026 and came into effect on 14 March. This order comes against the backdrop of reports of people panic booking cylinders as the numbers have risen substainially over last few days.
The order also said consumers who already have PNG connections must surrender their domestic LPG connection, and that households with both PNG and LPG connections will no longer be allowed refills.
“Two India flagged vessels, Shivalik and Nanda Devi have left the Strait of Hormuz from the western side, both vessels carrying approximately 92,700 metric tonnes of LPG is expected to arrive at Mundra and Kandla port on March 16 and March 17, respectively,” Rajesh Kumar Sinha, special secretary, Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Waterways informed reporters at the inter-ministerial press briefing earlier Saturday.
Following the departure of the two vessels, 22 Indian-flagged ships remain on the western side of the Strait of Hormuz, while three are on the eastern side.
“In last three days, six vessels carrying LPG from different parts of the world, not from the Gulf, arrived at different ports of the country,” Sinha said. He added, “Ports have been instructed to give priority berths to the vessels carrying LPGs”.
Of the 22 Indian-flagged vessels on the western side of Hormuz, Sinha said six are carrying LPG, one has LNG, four are crude oil tankers, three are container ships, two are bulk carriers, one has chemical products, and the remaining are either undergoing repairs or are empty.
On LPG supply, Sujata Sharma, joint secretary at the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas, said the situation continues to remain a concern but assured that there is no shortage of LPG in the country.
According to ministry data shared at the briefing, 88.8 lakh LPG bookings were made across the country on Friday (13 March 2026), which was over 30 lakh more than the daily average of 55 lakh.
“We would like to urge the households that there is no need to do panic booking or standing in queue for the LPG cylinders,” Sharma said.
She added, “The oil marketing companies have been delivering cylinders to households and would continue to do so now. No need to go to distributors, as cylinder booking can be done online.”
Amid supply concerns, Sharma said domestic LPG production has been ramped up. “We are also in talks with multiple nations to procure LPG.”
According to the ministry, domestic LPG production had been ramped up to 31 percent as of Saturday, from 25 percent Wednesday.
The petroleum ministry also urged domestic households and urban commercial users to shift to piped natural gas (PNG) connections through their city gas distribution providers to ease pressure on LPG supplies.
On the government’s decision to prioritise domestic consumers over commercial users, Sharma said at the press briefing Saturday: “In last 10 years, LPG customers grew from 14 crore to 33 crore and we import nearly 60 percent of our requirement, so given the current situation the government has decided to prioritize domestic households.”
Meanwhile, the Ministry of External Affairs said diplomatic outreach had helped facilitate the movement of some vessels bound for India.
“In last few days, Prime Minister has spoken to counterparts in the region and embassies have also been touch with various authorities,” said MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal.
He also said non-essential crew members of the Iranian vessel IRIS Lavan departed India Friday. “Owing to widespread flight disruptions, several Iranian citizens were stranded in India. The Iranian embassy arranged a charter from Kochi that included students, diplomats and also the non-essential crew of IRIS Lavan,” said Jaiswal.
This is an updated version of the report
(Edited by Amrtansh Arora)