Million Barrels of Russian Oil Stuck Off India’s Coast as Sanctions Disrupt Delivery

An oil tanker carrying crude from a recently sanctioned Russian producer has been idling off India’s west coast for two days, sparking questions over whether Indian authorities will permit the delivery, Bloomberg reported on February 11.

The Cordelia Moon was scheduled to offload its cargo at Vadinar port on February 9 after loading approximately 1 million barrels of Urals crude from Russia’s Black Sea port of Novorossiysk between January 10 and 12, according to shipping data.

The cargo belongs to Surgutneftegas, one of two Russian oil producers sanctioned by the US on January 10.

This shipment marks the first known delivery of Surgutneftegas crude loaded after the US sanctions took effect. At least four more tankers are expected to arrive in the coming days or weeks, including one carrying oil from Gazprom Neft, the other Russian producer targeted by US sanctions.

Meanwhile, vessel tracking data indicates that millions of barrels of Russian crude from the country’s eastern ports are sitting on tankers, signaling potential disruptions in the global oil supply chain as sanctions take hold.

India’s oil secretary Pankaj Jain, without mentioning specific vessels, stated that shipments from sanctioned entities wouldn’t be accepted if they were loaded after January 10.

He claimed no knowledge of the Cordelia Moon, which is not among the 161 oil tankers blacklisted by the US Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC).

Earlier, reports emerged that the Biden administration’s sanctions on Russian oil exports are beginning to take a toll, slashing Moscow’s revenues and forcing suppliers to cut prices.x