- US LPG tanker Pyxis Pioneer docked at Mangalore port Sunday.
- Shipment bypassed Hormuz, carrying 16,714 tonnes from Texas.
- India increases US LPG imports amid Gulf supply disruptions.
- Additional US LPG cargoes scheduled to arrive later in March.
The Singapore-flagged LPG tanker Pyxis Pioneer docked at Berth No. 13 of New Mangalore Port at approximately 6am on Sunday, carrying 16,714 tonnes of liquefied petroleum gas loaded at the Port of Nederland, Texas a shipment that departed the US on February 14, two weeks before the Iran war began, and arrived on the same morning that President Trump issued a 48-hour ultimatum threatening to destroy Iranian power plants if the Strait of Hormuz is not fully reopened.
The vessel will discharge its cargo for Aegis Logistics Ltd. before departing early Monday. It is the first US-origin LPG tanker to berth at Mangaluru since the war disrupted Gulf energy flows, and it will be followed by two more: the Apollo Ocean is due on March 25 carrying 26,687 tonnes for Indian Oil Corporation and BPCL, and a third vessel is expected March 29 with approximately 30,000 tonnes for HPCL. Combined, the three shipments will deliver around 72,700 tonnes of LPG to southern India this month alone.
Why This Shipment Matters
The government's reassurance reflects a genuine improvement from the acute shortages seen in the war's first week. LPG cylinders had surged above ₹5,000 in some commercial markets, hotels and restaurants in Karnataka, Bengaluru and Chennai had shut or scaled back operations, and panic-buying had depleted distribution networks.
The government invoked the Essential Commodities Act, boosted allocations to commercial users by 20 percent, diverted industrial propane and butane toward LPG production, and accelerated US import contracts to make up for the collapse of Gulf supply.
India normally imports 60-65 percent of its LPG from the Gulf. The Pyxis Pioneer's cargo bypassed the Strait of Hormuz entirely loaded in Texas and sailing via the Cape of Good Hope. The New Mangalore Port Authority separately waived all cargo-related charges on crude oil and LPG from March 14 to 31 to accelerate throughput.
Rajesh Kumar Sinha, Special Secretary of the Shipping Ministry, confirmed at an inter-ministerial briefing that all 22 Indian-flagged vessels and 611 Indian seafarers currently in the western Persian Gulf are safe.
A Broader Supply Picture
The Pyxis Pioneer's arrival follows a sequence of significant energy deliveries to India this week. The Indian-flagged crude tanker Jag Laadki arrived at Adani Ports Mundra on March 18 with 80,800 metric tonnes of crude oil. The LPG carriers Shivalik and Nanda Devi had crossed the Strait of Hormuz earlier in the month, carrying 92,712 metric tonnes of LPG combined.
A Russian crude tanker, the Aqua Titan, was also anchored 18 nautical miles off Mangaluru on Sunday, awaiting discharge via the single-point mooring system to MRPL made possible by the US temporary general licence permitting stranded Russian crude to complete journeys already underway as of March 12.
India has signed contracts to import 2.2 million tonnes of LPG annually from the United States, a figure now central to New Delhi's energy resilience strategy as the Gulf supply chain remains disrupted and Trump's 48-hour Hormuz deadline generates fresh uncertainty over whether the strait will reopen or escalate further.
