Volumes of Russian oil stuck on tankers at sea are growing

The volume of Russian crude stuck at sea is growing as U.S. sanctions against Russia continue to affect shipping.

Exports from Russian ports have risen to a three-month high, but Indian refineries are still refusing to accept cargoes from sanctioned tankers, even if they were used only for part of the route, Bloomberg reported.

Some Chinese ports appear to be following a similar approach.

India’s decision effectively shuts off crude imports from the Arctic and projects near Sakhalin Island in Russia’s Far East, which rely entirely on specialized shuttle tankers that Biden sanctioned on Jan. 10. The refusal of some Chinese ports to handle such cargoes has left tankers stranded for weeks because they cannot unload the oil.

That could change if President Donald Trump lifts Joe Biden’s sanctions.

Some 7.7 million barrels of crude from two Sakhalin projects have been sitting on tankers for more than two weeks. Before the sanctions, such shipments typically reached refineries in less than a week. Another 12 million barrels of Arctic crude have been sent on much longer voyages than planned, leaving the oil at sea for months.

The measures have also caused the cost of shipping Russia’s flagship crude to skyrocket. The cost of transporting 1 million barrels of Urals from the Black Sea port of Novorossiysk to the west coast of India has risen to $7.9 million, up from $5.6 million at the end of last year.

Despite the difficulties in delivering cargoes, a surge in shipments from the Black Sea last week lifted the four-week average of oil exports from Russian ports to 3.09 million barrels per day in the four weeks to March 2, the highest since December 1.

Before the sanctions were imposed on January 10, India was the destination for about 60% of Russia’s Arctic crude exports (64 million barrels in 2023). India also received 14 million barrels of Sokol oil from the Sakhalin-1 project in the first nine months of 2024, accounting for almost 30% of total exports during that period. However, this flow stopped in the last quarter of the year.

Arctic oil loaded after January 10 began arriving in the Arabian Sea near ports on India’s west coast that were initially listed as final destinations.

However, instead of being unloaded, the oil was secretly transshipped to other vessels off the coast of Oman. Those that have been identified are headed for China. This further stretches Russia’s Arctic oil supply chain, increasing the amount of crude left at sea and forcing Indian refineries to look for alternatives.

No Arctic oil tanker loaded after January 10 has reached India, according to ship tracking data compiled by Bloomberg.

In the Pacific, only five of the 19 Sakhalin oil shipments loaded since the latest round of sanctions have reached their destinations.

USM previously reported that Iran is using smaller vessels to circumvent sanctions in its oil trade with China.