India’s domestic push for energy conservation is a refusal to be “extorted” and allow the Strait of Hormuz to be turned into a “private toll corridor” with demands up to $2 million per voyage being made, government sources have said.
“The PM’s request to reduce fuel use is an act of refusal to be extorted, proving that India does not negotiate from a position of fear,” a government source close to the development said.
Unofficial fees of up to $2 million are being demanded (purportedly by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps of Iran) for safe transit of ships through the Strait of Hormuz but India would not pay this “unofficial toll”, the source added.
The maritime crisis in West Asia escalated this week with the sinking of an Indian-flagged vessel, MSV Haji Ali, in the Gulf of Oman. The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) issued a sharp condemnation of the attack on Thursday. “The attack on an Indian-flagged ship off the coast of Oman yesterday is unacceptable and we deplore the fact that commercial shipping and civilian mariners continue to be targeted,” the MEA said in a statement.
India reiterates that targeting commercial shipping and endangering innocent civilian crew members, or otherwise impeding freedom of navigation and commerce, should be avoided, the statement added.
As many as 13 Indian ships are still stuck and awaiting passage through the Strait of Hormuz while 11 ships have successfully made it through, per the MEA.
The West Asia crisis, which escalated after the US and Israel attacked Iran on February 28, has resulted in a dual blockade in the Strait of Hormuz considered the primary sea passage for global energy trade.
While the blockade was initiated by Iran soon after the US and Israel attacks, the US launched its own naval blockade on April 13 specifically targeting all vessels entering or departing Iranian ports.
In his appeal on May 10, Prime Minister Narendra Modi urged the nation to revive pandemic-era austerity measures, including work-from-home and the use of public transport, to mitigate the impact of the global energy crisis.
On Friday, state-run oil companies raised petrol and diesel prices by ₹3 per litre.
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Published on May 15, 2026