NEW DELHI, May 21 (Reuters) - India wants to secure the return of its ships stranded in the Gulf before sending any vessels back to load fuel, a senior government official said on Thursday.
"Our priority is to get all our ships out of the Strait of Hormuz," said Mukesh Mangal, additional secretary at India's ministry of ports, shipping and waterways.
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India will send vessels to the west of the Strait of Hormuz "whenever the situation becomes conducive", he added.
India's shipping ministry is coordinating with the foreign ministry and a decision on sending vessels back will be taken after all stranded ships return, Mangal told a press conference.
He said 13 Indian-flagged vessels and one Indian-owned vessel are still stuck on the west side of the Strait.
Thirteen vessels loaded with energy cargoes, mostly liquefied petroleum gas (LPG), have so far transited out of the Strait since its effective closure due to the conflict which began with U.S.-Israeli strikes on Iran on February 28.
Before the war, India sourced more than 40% of its crude oil imports and about 90% of its LPG, which is used for cooking, from the Middle East through the Strait of Hormuz.
India now faces one of its worst cooking gas supply disruptions in decades, with shipments through the Strait largely halted due to the conflict.
Reporting by Saurabh Sharma and Nidhi Verma in New Delhi; Editing by Alexander Smith
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