The Great Redirection : Russia Oil Tanker Bound For China Makes U-Turn; Now, Heading To India
New Delhi : A Russian oil-laden tanker that was bound for China has U-turned in the South China Sea, and is now hurrying to India. The Aqua Titan is set to arrive in New Mangalore on March 21 with its Urals cargo that it loaded from a Baltic Sea port in late January, according to ship-tracking data.
Indian refiners snapped up a whopping 30 million barrels of Russian oil in the week that followed the concession, a move aimed to help the nation cope with lost Middle Eastern supplies due to the war in Iran. More countries have been allowed to resume purchases from Russia. That paves the way for further diversions from China, which has served as Moscow’s importer of last resort in recent months after India reduced purchases. The return of buyers, including those in Japan and South Korea, is likely to push prices higher.
The Suezmax Zouzou N. is signaling India’s Sikka as its next destination, with an estimated arrival date of March 25, ship-tracking data show. The tanker is carrying Kazakh CPC Blend crude, according to Kpler. It had sailed from Novorossiysk on Russia’s Black Sea to the waters off Rizhao, before turning around in early March to make its way to India.
In a separate development, another tanker carrying crude from the region has also altered its route toward India. The Suezmax vessel Zouzou N., which is transporting Kazakh CPC Blend crude, is now signaling Sikka on India’s west coast as its next destination with an estimated arrival date of March 25, according to ship-tracking data.
The tanker had earlier sailed from Novorossiysk on Russia’s Black Sea and was initially headed toward waters near Rizhao in China before turning around in early March and redirecting its cargo to India. Despite the tense situation, some Indian vessels have managed to navigate the route successfully. On Tuesday, the Indian-flagged LPG carrier Nanda Devi arrived at Vadinar port in Gujarat’s Jamnagar district, carrying 46,500 metric tonnes of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) for ship-to-ship transfer at anchorage.