Two tankers carrying Russian oil that had previously indicated East Asia as their destination have changed course and are now heading to India. Ship-tracking data suggest that, as the conflict in the Middle East intensifies, New Delhi appears increasingly willing to accept such shipments.
According to data from Kpler and Vortexa, two tankers carrying Urals crude with a combined volume of about 1.4 million barrels are expected to discharge at Indian ports this week. The vessels had earlier signaled that they were bound farther east. Urals crude, loaded from ports in the Baltic and Black Seas, was long popular with Indian refiners, but flows have dropped sharply this year amid US pressure on New Delhi to halt purchases of Russian oil.
The Suezmax tanker Odune, carrying about 730,000 barrels, arrived on Wednesday at the port of Paradip on India’s east coast, according to data and reports from a port agent, though it remains unclear whether unloading has begun. The second vessel—the Aframax tanker Matari, carrying more than 700,000 barrels—is due to arrive at the port of Vadinar in western India on Thursday.
In recent weeks, Indian refiners had been scaling back purchases of Russian oil, wary of complicating trade negotiations with Washington, which forced Moscow to seek buyers in China. But the war in the Middle East and the effective closure of the Strait of Hormuz are raising the risk of supply shortages in the oil market, and refiners in South Asia now appear to be turning once again to Russian crude.
It is possible that other vessels may also alter their routes. The Suezmax tanker Indri, currently in the Arabian Sea and previously signaling Singapore as its destination, abruptly turned north toward India this week with about 730,000 barrels of Urals crude on board, according to ship-tracking data.
All three vessels—Odune, Matari and Indri—were sanctioned last year by the United Kingdom and the European Union.
Global Ship Solutions LLC, an Azerbaijan-based company listed in the Equasis database as the manager of the Odune, did not respond to an emailed request for comment. Contact details for the vessel’s owner—Hong Kong-registered Sylvarn Fleetline Ltd—could not be found.
Anchor Elite Shipmanagement, the Azerbaijan-registered company managing the Matari, also did not respond to an emailed request for comment. Contact details for the vessel’s owner—Oasis Bloom Corp—could not be found.
Databases also list no email addresses or phone numbers for the owner of the tanker Indri—Hong Kong-based Veyronda Seaborne Ltd—or for its managing company, Stellar Ship Solutions LLC in Azerbaijan.