Indian refiners have started chartering tankers to transit the Strait of Hormuz and load crude in the Persian Gulf, a tactical shift from relying on Gulf producers and traders to bear voyage risk. Since the early stages of the US-Iran conflict refiners avoided using their own ships because of attack risk and paid cost‑plus freight premiums; recent tenders show firms including Indian Oil Corporation, Reliance Industries and HPCL‑Mittal Energy buying Iraqi crude, with Indian Oil buying about 2 mil

Indian refiners have started chartering tankers to transit the Strait of Hormuz and load crude in the Persian Gulf, a tactical shift from relying on Gulf producers and traders to bear voyage risk. Since the early stages of the US-Iran conflict refiners avoided using their own ships because of attack risk and paid cost‑plus freight premiums; recent tenders show firms including Indian Oil Corporation, Reliance Industries and HPCL‑Mittal Energy buying Iraqi crude, with Indian Oil buying about 2 million barrels for October delivery. Those purchases require buyers to arrange vessels and handle logistics.