Responding to a question, Shipping Ministry’s Special Secretary Rajesh Sinha said that three foreign-flagged ships are loaded with LPG, four are loaded with crude oil and three are loaded with LNG. He stressed that the government’s priority is to ensure that Indian flagged ships carrying goods bound for India are allowed to pass through the Strait of Hormuz.Two LPG carriers carrying about 94,000 tonnes of cooking gas cleared the Strait of Hormuz on Saturday and are likely to reach Mumbai Port and New Mangalore Port in the next two days.Responding to a question on how many empty vessels are likely to be sent back to the Persian Gulf for fresh loading, Sinha said, “We are yet to reach the stage where we can start sending them (Indian flagged vessels) back.”He also said that insurance premiums have increased. “The affected area is not just the Strait of Hormuz; areas outside it also fall under the High Risk Area (HRA).” He said that before the war commercial premiums used to be 0.04% of the insurance value, but have since increased. He said that in one case, the premium is now 0.7% of the insurance value, and it could be even higher.