Riyadh called on global oil buyers to secure their energy shipments passing through the Strait of Hormuz, Saudi Energy Minister Khalid al-Falih said in New Delhi on Thursday.
“We, of course, call on the international community and have discussions with my counterpart Minister Pradhan today that India also needs to do its part of securing free navigation of sea links transporting energy to the rest of the world,” Falih told Reuters after meeting with India’s Petroleum Minister Dharmendra Pradhan.
Concerns of disruptions in the Strait of Hormuz, where about 20 percent of global supply is transported daily, have increased after the Iranian Revolutionary Guards seized the British-flagged oil tanker Stena Impero in the waterway on Friday in apparent retaliation for the British capture of an Iranian tanker in Gibraltar two weeks earlier.
Britain's ministry of defense said Thursday that the navy will accompany British-flagged vessels through the Strait of Hormuz in order to defend freedom of navigation.
"The Royal Navy has been tasked to accompany British-flagged ships through the Strait of Hormuz, either individually or in groups, should sufficient notice be given of their passage," a British government spokesman said in a statement.
