India has launched a priority operation to move 13 Indian-flagged commercial vessels out of the Strait of Hormuz, turning the Iran crisis into a direct fleet-protection problem for one of Asia’s biggest energy importers.
The new angle is operational, not just economic. List25 has already covered India’s fuel-supply scramble and its search for replacement crude while Hormuz remains unstable. This is different: New Delhi is now publicly trying to get its own ships out of the waterway, while also warning Indian nationals to avoid travel to Iran.
The Times of India reported that the Centre launched a high-priority operation to guide 13 Indian-flagged commercial vessels safely out of the Strait of Hormuz as tensions rise across West Asia and the Gulf. The report cited Opesh Kumar Sharma, a director at India’s Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Waterways, who said the fleet includes one LPG tanker, five crude oil tankers, one chemical or product tanker, three container ships, two bulk carriers, and one dredger.
"Our priority is to get our ships out that are currently inside," Sharma said, according to the report.
Gulf News also reported that India has activated a coordinated, multi-agency response involving the shipping ministry, the Ministry of External Affairs, Indian diplomatic missions, and maritime stakeholders. The stated goal is to protect Indian seafarers and commercial assets in one of the world’s most important energy corridors.
India Says Its Seafarers Are Safe
For now, Indian officials say there have been no reported hostile incidents involving Indian seafarers on Indian-flagged or foreign-flagged merchant vessels in the region. That matters because the operation is unfolding after weeks of seizures, missile and drone attacks, naval warnings, and shifting rules for commercial traffic near Hormuz.
The Times of India reported that the Marshall Islands-flagged crude tanker Nissos Keros, carrying about 270,000 metric tonnes of crude oil, safely transited the Strait of Hormuz on May 25 and 26 and is expected to arrive at Visakhapatnam on June 3. Gulf News carried the same detail, framing it as a positive sign amid the wider evacuation and transit effort.
That single tanker does not solve the problem. But it shows India is still trying to keep energy cargoes moving while lowering exposure for vessels already in the danger zone.
Thousands of Indians Have Already Been Assisted
The maritime operation is running alongside a broader evacuation and welfare push. Gulf News reported that India’s Directorate General of Shipping emergency control room has handled more than 10,800 calls and more than 24,000 emails since activation. Officials said India has facilitated the return of more than 3,400 seafarers from the Gulf region, including 47 repatriations in the past four days.
The Ministry of External Affairs has also advised Indian nationals not to travel to Iran and urged those already there to leave with help from the Indian Embassy. Gulf News reported that the embassy in Tehran has helped 2,557 Indian citizens leave Iran through land border crossings.
Additional Secretary Aseem R. Mahajan said Indian missions are working with local authorities, community groups, and Indian companies across the region. The point is not only to move ships. It is to keep a large overseas Indian workforce from getting trapped if airspace, ports, or border routes tighten again.
Why This Matters
India’s exposure to Hormuz is hard to overstate. A major share of its crude oil, LNG, and LPG supply normally moves through the Gulf. When the strait becomes unreliable, the pressure hits shipping schedules, refinery planning, fuel markets, and diplomatic decisions at the same time.
MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said New Delhi is trying to protect energy security by diversifying supply sources, according to Gulf News. That fits the pattern already visible in recent reporting: India is looking for more non-Gulf options while still trying to recover ships and cargoes already caught near Hormuz.
The practical takeaway is sharp: the Iran crisis is no longer just forcing India to buy oil differently. It is forcing India to manage a live maritime extraction problem, one vessel class at a time, in a chokepoint that remains central to the global energy system.