Three Indian-flagged oil tankers carrying 94 crew members passed safely through the Strait of Hormuz on June 20, 2026, according to India’s shipping minister, Sarbananda Sonowal. Desh Vaibhav, Desh Vibhor and Sanmar Herald were carrying more than 860,000 tonnes of crude oil between them and were sailing toward ports in India.
Sonowal said Desh Vaibhav and Desh Vibhor were expected at Vadinar and Sikka in Gujarat on June 24. Sanmar Herald, the last of the vessels to complete the crossing, was due at Paradip in Odisha on July 1. Each tanker carried about 285,000 tonnes, making their passage significant for India’s energy supply as well as for the safety of the seafarers aboard.
Tanker-tracking data showed Desh Vibhor manoeuvring in the strait earlier that day. The ship briefly turned toward a southern route recommended by the US military before reversing toward the Iranian side. Sonowal later confirmed that all three had cleared the chokepoint and said the shipping ministry was coordinating with relevant agencies to protect Indian crews and energy routes.
Their transit occurred shortly before Iran’s joint military command said it was closing the strait again. Tehran linked the decision to continuing Israeli strikes in Lebanon and accused the United States of failing to honour commitments in a recently signed interim agreement. Iranian state television warned that further measures had been planned if the attacks continued.
The waterway had reopened earlier in the week after Washington and Tehran signed an interim arrangement intended to halt their conflict. Under the reported terms, Iran agreed to dilute highly enriched uranium while the United States provided a sanctions waiver for Iranian oil sales. Washington also lifted a naval blockade. Iran nevertheless maintained that ships required its permission to cross.
Ten other Indian vessels remained in the Persian Gulf on the western side of the strait after the three tankers passed, according to the ministry’s status update. Their position illustrated the continuing exposure of commercial shipping to abrupt changes in military and diplomatic conditions.
Negotiations were still moving forward despite the renewed closure announcement. An Iranian group including parliamentary speaker Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf, Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi and economic officials was travelling to Switzerland, where Pakistan and Qatar were helping mediate. An Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson said the delegation would press the United States to implement existing commitments before talks on a final agreement could begin. The tankers’ safe passage was therefore a completed movement through a corridor whose status remained contested only hours later. The passage gave India three confirmed deliveries to plan around, but it did not remove the danger facing crews still west of Hormuz.
