The Ministry of External Affairs said on Tuesday that permission for ships to ferry Iranian oil to India was being granted on “case-by-case basis” on the request of oil public sector undertakings.
The MEA’s clarification came after the head of Mangalore Refinery and Petrochemicals Ltd had said that the government had withdrawn approval for CIF (cost, insurance and freight) basis for ships carrying Iranian oil was withdrawn.
The MEA said in its statement here that following the EU sanctions coming into force from July 1 some “complications arose due to the non-availability of protection and indemnity (P&I) club insurance to ships carrying Iranian crude oil.” “Consequently, a general exemption was granted by the government to foreign ships carrying Iranian crude oil on the CIF basis to dock at Indian ports under certain conditions,” it said.
The national insurance companies, thereafter, agreed to extend insurance cover to Indian ships for transportation of Iranian crude.
“In view of this, the general exemption granted earlier to oil PSUs for carrying Iranian crude on CIF basis has been withdrawn,” noted the MEA statement.