India’s Mangalore Refinery and Petrochemicals Ltd. (MRPL) has become the first Indian refinery to tell crude suppliers to avoid both the Strait of Hormuz and the Red Sea, inserting the restriction into a spot tender for up to 1 million barrels of crude. The tender seeks cargoes for delivery between August 25 and September 6 and specifies that crude loading or transit through either the Red Sea or the Strait of Hormuz is to be avoided. Business Standard reported that no previous Indian refiner has included the requirement in a spot crude import tender. Houthi forces have targeted vessels operating in the Red Sea after declaring a blockade on Saudi exports, while tanker movements through Hormuz remain well below normal despite the suspension of U.S. and Iranian strikes. Business Standard reported that MRPL did not award its previous crude tender, and noted that the company intends to retain the routing restrictions in future spot tenders if conditions in West Asia do not improve.