NEW DELHI, March 14 (Reuters) - India has sought safe

passage for 22 of its vessels stranded west of the Strait of

Hormuz, a foreign affairs ministry spokesperson said on

Saturday, after Iran allowed a few Indian ships to sail through,

in a rare exception to the blockade.

Randhir Jaiswal told a press conference that India has

stayed in touch with all major parties in the Middle East -

including Gulf Cooperation Council countries, Iran, the U.S. and

Israel - to convey its priorities, particularly on energy

security.

Tehran's Ambassador to India, Mohammad Fathali, confirmed

that Iran has allowed some Indian vessels to sail through the

Strait of Hormuz. He was speaking on broadcaster India Today's

conclave in New Delhi.

Since the United States and Israel launched a bombing

campaign on Iran, Tehran has largely halted ​traffic through the

strait, which runs past its coast and through which around 20%

of global oil ​and seaborne liquefied natural gas is supplied.

The blockade has triggered India's worst gas crisis in decades

with the government cutting supplies for industries to shield

​households from any shortage of cooking gas.

The stranded ships include four crude oil vessels, six

liquefied petroleum gas carriers and one liquefied natural gas

vessel, special secretary at the Indian shipping ministry Rajesh

Kumar Sinha said at the same press conference.

Sinha said two Indian vessels, Shivalik and Nanda Devi

chartered by Indian Oil Corp, had safely passed through

the strait and would reach the western Indian ports of Mundra

and Kandla on March 16 and 17.

The vessels together carry more than 92,000 metric tons of

liquefied petroleum gas, he said.

India is also trying to build consensus among BRICS members

for a position on the Middle East conflict, Jaiswal said.

India is current chair of the BRICS group of countries

comprising original members Brazil, Russia, India, China and

South Africa which has expanded to include Iran and others.

(Reporting by Shivangi Acharya; Editing by Toby Chopra and

Emelia Sithole-Matarise)