Three tankers carrying Russian Sokol oil stranded at sea due to payment issues and Western sanctions have started moving towards China and India, Kupler and LSEG data showed on Monday. Ta.
The Sokol tanker holdup is the biggest disruption to Russia’s oil trade since Western countries imposed sanctions on Russia over its military actions in Ukraine.
More than 10 million barrels of Sokol have been floating in offshore storage over the past three months due to payment difficulties and Western sanctions on shipping companies and ships carrying the crude.
Three ships, NS Century, NS Commander and Nerys, which have been at sea since November, have finally been moved, according to data and traders. Russian state oil giant Rosneft, a major exporter of Sokol grade, did not respond to Reuters’ questions about sales of Sokol crude.
Rising prices curb India’s thirst for Russian crude oil
Rising prices curb India’s thirst for Russian crude oil
NS Century and Nellis are shipping a combined 2.2 million barrels of Sokol to Chinese ports, according to data analysis firm Kpler. Both tankers are subject to new U.S. sanctions for violating the $60 per barrel price cap on Russian crude oil.
The buyer was a private Chinese refiner, two people involved in the deal told Reuters. The traders declined to be named because the information is private and did not name the buyers.
“China may be the solution to the problem.” [with Sokol sales] “This is because at least two tankers that have been idling since November have started moving towards Chinese territorial waters,” said Victor Katona, head of crude oil analysis at Kpler.
The Gabonese-flagged tanker NS Commander, which is not subject to U.S. sanctions, was headed to the Indian port of Jamnagar with about 600,000 barrels of Sokol oil, according to Kupler and LSEG data.
About 7.5 million barrels of Sokol remained at sea as of Monday, according to Kupler, down from more than 10 million barrels two weeks ago.