An LPG tanker carrying around 660 metric tonnes of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) reached the Andaman and Nicobar Islands on Thursday, with authorities saying the consignment is expected to support cooking gas supplies in the immediate term.
The vessel, EPIC KOSAN, docked at Hope Town Jetty, authorities said. Unloading operations were underway, and the fresh stock will be taken up for distribution under the existing system. No change in the allocation mechanism has been announced.
The arrival assumes added significance against the backdrop of the ongoing Iran-US-Israel conflict, which has severely disrupted shipping movement in and around the Gulf. Reuters reported that commercial traffic west of the Strait of Hormuz has been hit by repeated attacks and rising risks, prompting shipping concerns and supply disruptions across energy markets. Reuters also reported earlier this month that no LPG tankers had crossed the Strait of Hormuz since March 1, with vessels piling up in the Gulf of Oman and the Arabian Sea.
The wider energy market has also come under strain. Reuters reported that Middle East oil exports had dropped sharply as Hormuz remained mostly shut, while freight and shipping costs for oil and gas cargoes have surged amid the conflict.
For the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, which depend on regular shipments for LPG supplies, such global disruptions can quickly translate into local anxiety over availability. The latest consignment is therefore likely to bring some immediate relief to domestic consumers as well as commercial users.
At the same time, concerns over local distribution have persisted. There have been complaints in recent weeks of delayed refills and allegations of LPG cylinders being diverted or sold in the black market at sharply inflated prices. Those claims could not be independently verified, and there was no immediate official statement on any enforcement action related to hoarding or black-market sales.
Authorities said the latest shipment is expected to strengthen the current stock position, though they did not specify how long the consignment is likely to last.
With unloading now underway, the tanker’s arrival is expected to ease immediate pressure on supplies. But with global shipping routes under stress and the islands reliant on mainland-linked cargo movement, the broader concern over supply stability is unlikely to disappear anytime soon.
