Industry Odisha Bureau, Jun 22: With the onset of annual south-west monsoon and the Kharif season underway in India, the Government of India (GoI) is now reportedly striving hard for the shipments of its fertilizer cargoes since Iran has reportedly put into effect its new transit rules through the Strait of Hormuz post US-Iran deal inked recenlty.
As per media reports, “GoI has earmarked 34 ships, including fertilizer-carrying bulk carriers and one ammonia carrier serving domestic fertilizer production, with possible naval escorts. While some ships identified by the GoI are untraceable on vessel-tracking websites, many are anchored west of the Strait of Hormuz.”
Media reports added that, “Iran has now announced that the Persian Gulf Strait Authority (PGSA) would be the sole official channel for processing transit requests, and applications for the permit transit requests can be submitted through its website.”
Media reports further stated that, “Even though some ships transited during the first two days after the signing of the US-Iran peace deal, a number of vessels attempting to transit have been challenged by Sepah Navy (Iran’s naval force) and have turned around midway”.
Reportedly, “the GoI’s Department of Agriculture & Farmers Welfare has assessed the fertilizer requirement for this year’s Kharif season at about 384 lakh tonnes. Current stocks stand at around 196 lakh tonnes, while India began the season with an opening stock of more than 200 lakh tonnes. Nearly 40 lakh tonnes of imports have reached India during the West Asia crisis period, but mostly not from the Strait of Hormuz, rather than from other countries.”
