Special Secretary at the Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Waterways, Rajesh Kumar Sinha, stated that all the Indian sailors and ships are safe in the Gulf region. Mr Sinha informed this while addressing the Inter Ministerial Briefing on Recent Developments in West Asia in New Delhi. He noted that 161 Indian sailors have been repatriated and brought back to India after signing off in the Gulf region in the last 24 hours. Mr Sinha also noted that the second LPG carrier, Nanda Devi, reached Kandla port early this morning, and now cargo is being discharged from both the LPG carriers.
Addresing the briefing, Joint Secretary at the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas Sujata Sharma today said that petrol and diesel are available in sufficient quantity throughout the country. She said that the Government is making efforts to encourage commercial LPG consumers to shift to Piped Natural Gas. Joint Secretary also said that the Government has written to all State Governments and Union Territories, requesting that pending permissions for pipeline laying be granted deemed approval and that new applications be approved within 24 hours.
External Affairs Minister Dr S Jaishankar discussed global challenges, with a particular focus on the situation in West Asia and its impact on energy security, with foreign ministers of various European Union countries during his recent visit to Brussels. Spokesperson of the Ministry of External Affairs, Randhir Jaiswal, informed about this in the briefing. He further informed that the ministers also underlined the need for dialogue and diplomacy to be drafted to bring an early end to this conflict.
Additional Secretary, Gulf, at the Ministry of External Affairs, Aseem Mahajan, informed the mission team that India is on the ground to assist with the early return of the 15 Indian crew members of the oil tanker Safesea Vishnu. He shared that the crew members are currently residing in a hotel in Basra. Mr Mahajan added that they are also coordinating with the concerned Iraqi authorities for the early repatriation of the mortal remains of the Indian national who lost his life in the incident.
