Quick overview

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A Russian oil-laden tanker headed for China made a U-turn in the South China Sea and is now racing to India after New Delhi started stepping up imports from Moscow. According to ship-tracking data, the Aqua Titan is scheduled to arrive in New Mangalore on March 21 with its Urals cargo, which it loaded from a Baltic Sea port in January

Days after the US approved India’s temporary increase in Russian purchases, the Aframax ship changed its course in Southeast Asian waters in mid-March after initially indicating the Chinese port of Rizhao as its destination.

Indian refiners purchased an astounding 30 million barrels of Russian oil in the week that followed the concession, a move intended to help the country deal with supplies lost in the Middle East

More nations have since been permitted to purchase from Russia. This opens the door for additional diversions from China, which has been Moscow’s last-resort importer in recent months due to India’s decreased purchases.

Prices are likely to rise amid the return of buyers, including those from South Korea and Japan. According to Vortexa Ltd., at least seven tankers transporting Russian oil have changed their destinations from China to India since all of India’s major refiners are currently involved in the country’s crude market.

Additionally, the Suezmax Zouzou N. is indicating Sikka, India, as its next destination, with a projected arrival date of March 25, according to ship-tracking data. Kpler claims that the tanker is transporting Kazakh CPC Blend crude. After sailing to Rizhao from Novorossiysk on Russia’s Black Sea, it turned around in early March to head for India.