Iran has relaxed the movement of commercial ships passing through the Strait of Hormuz. Amidst the heavy tension that has been going on for the last few weeks, the number of ships passing through this route has now doubled. According to the latest ship-tracking data of March 18, 2026, Iran is now giving safe passage only to ships of friendly and neutral countries. India has also got a big relief from this important decision, because there was a huge shortage of cooking gas in the country.
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What are the new rules and which ships are getting entry?
Iranian authorities have now implemented a new ‘permission system’ for the passage of ships. Now any ship passing through this route will have to give complete information about its identity and destination.
Along with this, the shipping companies will also have to prove that they have nothing to do with America or Israel. This has also been confirmed by Iran’s Ambassador to Iraq Mohammad Kazem al-Sadegh.
Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi has clearly said that this route is open for international shipping, but ships of enemy countries are prohibited from passing through here. Due to fear, many ships are tagging All Chinese Crew or China Owner in their tracking system (AIS) to keep themselves safe.
What effect will this have on the people of India?
Due to reduced traffic in the Strait of Hormuz, there was a severe shortage of LPG cooking gas in about 33 crore households in India. The main reason for this is that India sources 80 percent of its LPG gas requirement through this route.
According to recent reports, India has successfully negotiated and got the passage of its LPG ships cleared. With this, the shortage of domestic gas in India is expected to go away soon.
Apart from this, Turkish ships have also got permission to proceed after stopping at Iranian ports. However, due to security and war risks, big shipping companies like Maersk and Hapag-Lloyd are still avoiding using this route and are traveling by longer route.
