No permission required to sail through Strait of Hormuz, says govt official

What Happened

• Prime Minister Narendra Modi and US President Donald Trump spoke on March 24, 2026 — the first call between the two leaders since the US-Israel military strikes on Iran began on February 28, 2026.
• Modi stated on social media that the call covered "de-escalation and restoration of peace" in West Asia, and that "ensuring the Strait of Hormuz remains open, secure and accessible is essential for the whole world."
• External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar simultaneously spoke with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio — his first conversation with Rubio since the conflict began.
• Trump had earlier declared the Strait of Hormuz would be "open very soon" and claimed it would be "jointly controlled" by the US and Iran, amid ongoing indirect negotiations with Tehran.
• Trump gave Iran a 48-hour ultimatum to open the strait, later extended to Friday due to active negotiations; the US was engaging Iran through unnamed third parties, while Pakistan, Egypt, and Turkey emerged as potential mediators.
• India has maintained a diplomatic middle position: no condemnation of the US-Israel strikes, while consistently calling for dialogue and de-escalation.
• India's government clarified at an inter-ministerial briefing that no permission is required to navigate the Strait of Hormuz under international law, rejecting claims that Indian vessels needed Iranian clearance to pass.
• India has approximately 53 lakh metric tonnes (5.3 MMT) of fuel in its strategic petroleum reserves; the government stated there is no immediate energy shortage.
• Two LPG tankers — Pine Gas (45,000 tonnes) and Jag Vasant (47,612 tonnes) — transited the strait on March 24, bound for New Mangalore and Kandla respectively; both vessels sailed via the Larak-Qeshm channel, a route analysts believe Iran uses to verify ship ownership before allowing passage.
• Of the original 28 Indian-flagged vessels trapped in the Persian Gulf when conflict began, 22 remained as of March 24, with 540 Indian seafarers aboard vessels on the west side of the strait.

Static Topic Bridges

The Strait of Hormuz: Geography and Strategic Importance

The Strait of Hormuz is a narrow waterway connecting the Persian Gulf to the Gulf of Oman and, via the Arabian Sea, to the world's open oceans. It is approximately 167 km (90 nautical miles) long and narrows to about 39 km (21 nautical miles) at its most constricted point. On its north coast lies Iran; the south coast is shared between the UAE and Oman's Musandam exclave. Because it is the only maritime exit from the Persian Gulf, it is one of the world's most strategically critical maritime chokepoints.

In normal times, roughly 20–21 million barrels per day of oil and oil products transit the strait, representing approximately 25 percent of global seaborne oil trade. It also carries 20 percent of the world's liquefied natural gas (LNG). For India specifically: before the current conflict, more than half of India's crude oil came from Gulf states (Iraq, Saudi Arabia, UAE, Kuwait) that route exports through the strait. India imports approximately 88 percent of its crude oil needs; 85–95 percent of its LPG and around 30 percent of its natural gas came via this route.

UNCLOS and the Right of Transit Passage

The United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), signed in 1982 and entered into force in 1994, establishes the legal framework governing international maritime navigation. India ratified UNCLOS in 1995. A key UNCLOS provision relevant to the Hormuz crisis is the doctrine of transit passage (Articles 37–44), which guarantees all ships and aircraft — civilian and military — the right to pass through international straits used for international navigation, provided they proceed without delay and refrain from any threat or use of force against the bordering states.

Transit passage is distinct from — and stronger than — "innocent passage." Under innocent passage (applicable in territorial waters), a coastal state retains more authority to regulate and potentially suspend transit. Transit passage through international straits cannot be suspended by any state. Although Iran has signed but not ratified UNCLOS, the transit passage regime for international straits is widely recognised as customary international law, binding even on non-parties.

India's Strategic Petroleum Reserves (SPR)

India's Strategic Petroleum Reserves (SPR) programme was established to create an emergency buffer against oil supply disruptions. The reserves are managed by Indian Strategic Petroleum Reserves Limited (ISPRL), a Special Purpose Vehicle under the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas. India currently maintains three operational SPR locations with a combined capacity of 5.33 Million Metric Tonnes (MMT): Visakhapatnam (1.33 MMT), Mangaluru (1.5 MMT), and Padur, Karnataka (2.5 MMT). These are underground rock cavern facilities located near the coast to enable quick mobilisation. The government has approved a Phase II expansion adding approximately 6.5 MMT of capacity at Chandikhol, Odisha, and an additional Padur facility.

India's SPR provides a buffer of roughly 9–10 days of crude oil consumption under normal import rates. The government also counts commercial stocks held by refineries and oil companies. The PM told Parliament that combined reserves stood at approximately 53 lakh metric tonnes at the time of the crisis.

India's Gulf Diplomacy and Diaspora Dimension

India maintains close ties with the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) states — Saudi Arabia, UAE, Kuwait, Qatar, Bahrain, and Oman — driven by three interlocking interests: energy imports, remittances from the Indian diaspora, and trade. Approximately one crore (10 million) Indians live and work in the Gulf countries, making it the world's largest diaspora corridor. Remittances from this diaspora are consistently among India's largest sources of foreign exchange inflows. India has signed Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreements (CEPAs) with the UAE (effective May 2022) and Bahrain, and maintains a Free Trade Agreement with GCC countries under negotiation.

India's foreign policy framework under the Modi government has characterised the Gulf through the doctrine of "Act West" — a geographic complement to "Act East" — and has deepened bilateral ties with all GCC states irrespective of their geopolitical alignments with Iran or the US.

Key Facts & Data

• Date of Modi-Trump call: March 24, 2026 (first since conflict began February 28, 2026)
• Strait of Hormuz: ~25% of global seaborne oil trade; ~20% of global LNG passes through
• India's crude oil import dependence: ~88% of needs met by imports
• India's LPG dependence via Hormuz route: 85–95% (before crisis)
• Indian-flagged vessels stranded in Persian Gulf at conflict's start: 28 (22 remaining as of March 24)
• Indian seafarers aboard stranded vessels: approximately 540 (on west side of strait alone)
• India's operational SPR capacity: 5.33 MMT at three locations (Vizag, Mangaluru, Padur)
• Crude oil price spike since conflict began: approximately 40 percent
• LPG tankers transited March 24: Pine Gas (45,000 MT → New Mangalore port, March 27) and Jag Vasant (47,612 MT → Kandla, March 26)
• India imports ~88% crude, 50% natural gas, 60% LPG (pre-crisis figures)
• UNCLOS transit passage: Articles 37–44; India ratified 1995; Iran signed but not ratified
• Third-party mediators in US-Iran talks: Pakistan, Egypt, Turkey (per Financial Times report)