finance
Two India-Bound LPG Tankers Exit Strait of Hormuz After Brief Signal Blackout
The Marshall Islands-flagged Symi and Vietnam-flagged NV Sunshine completed the transit this week as commercial vessels increasingly operate in dark mode amid a stalemate in U.S.-Iran talks. Hundreds of tankers have been stranded in the Persian Gulf since early March. India previously sourced 90 percent of its LPG imports through the chokepoint.
May 14, 7:30 AM·1m read1 source
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Two LPG tankers bound for India cleared the Strait of Hormuz with transponders switched off for part of the route, the latest sign that commercial shipping is increasingly using dark mode to exit the chokepoint. The Marshall Islands-flagged Symi LPG tanker appeared in the Gulf of Oman early on Thursday and is en route to Kandla, a port in western India.
It had departed Ras Laffan in Qatar on March 6, 2026.
The Symi switched off its positioning signal earlier and began broadcasting its signal and destination after entering the Gulf of Oman. A second vessel, the Vietnam-flagged NV Sunshine LPG tanker, is also bound for India and went dark just after clearing the Strait of Hormuz. The two LPG tankers are the latest LPG carriers to have made it out of the Strait and are now going to India.
India relied on Strait of Hormuz flows for 90% of all its LPG imports before the war. Since early March 2026, hundreds of vessels, including tankers carrying energy commodities, have been stranded in the Persian Gulf west of the Strait of Hormuz. -Iran talks to end the war.
Dark activity is rising among commercial shipping. A growing number of vessels are exiting the chokepoint even as the deadlock persists. Commercial shipping is increasingly using dark mode for part of the journey around the Strait of Hormuz to avoid being easily spotted or targeted.
Last week at least three supertankers laden with crude oil successfully exited the Strait of Hormuz, carrying Iraqi and Emirati oil, with transponders off. com reported that the tankers are the latest to have switched off their positioning signals as the practice spreads.
