New Delhi: Given the global oil crisis, a tanker loaded with oil arriving unannounced close to Indian shores would have been considered a gift, but no refiner has shown interest in unloading it, fearing US sanctions.
The Iranian oil tanker, estimated to be laden with about two million barrels of crude arrived close to Gujarat on Tuesday without a declared destination or buyer, according to ship tracking data and industry watchers, as reported by The Indian Express.
After the sanctions waiver by the US last month, India did buy some Iranian barrels. However the waiver was for oil loaded before March 20.
The very large crude carrier (VLCC), MT Derya, that arrived in waters off Gujarat; was likely loaded with Iranian oil on March 28, according to vessel tracking data from commodity market analytics firm Kpler.
Since Derya was likely loaded after the cut-off date, accepting the oil it is carrying could attract secondary US sanctions on the buyer.
With the US warning of additional tariffs of up to 50% on those buying Iranian oil despite the sanction, India is no mood in putting its exporters and industries in jeopardy. After all, it took some doing to get the US to waive the 25% additional tariff imposed on Indian exports for purchasing Russian oil.
The US has already announced that it will not be extending the sanctions waiver on Iranian oil. The US Navy also announced a blockade of Iranian ports after peace talks between Washington and Tehran failed in Islamabad on Sunday.
This blockade is aimed at hitting Iran’s earnings from energy exports to China, which is not bothered with US sanctions.
Industry sources have said that Indian refiners are unlikely to touch these barrels and the tanker might find it difficult to get buyers elsewhere, except for perhaps China. Derya is a US-sanctioned tanker operated by Iran’s National Iranian Tanker Company (NITC), as per global shipping databases.
The tanker is likely to have crossed the Strait of Hormuz before the US started its blockade on Iranian ports on Monday. According to data from Kpler’s marine intelligence and data service MarineTraffic, Derya continued to be close to Gujarat as of Wednesday afternoon, having hardly moved since Tuesday.
According to the general licence issued by the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) of the US Department of the Treasury on March 21, transactions related to the sale, delivery, or offloading of crude oil and petroleum products of Iranian origin – loaded on any vessel, including tankers sanctioned by the US, as of 12.01 eastern daylight time (9.31 am India time) on March 20 – are authorised until April 19.
At least two tankers carrying Iranian oil and one tanker with Iranian LPG arrived at Indian ports over the past few days, taking advantage of this waiver. These marked the first energy supplies to India from Iran in nearly seven years. Over the weekend, tankers Jaya and Felicity — both carrying Iranian oil — arrived in Indian waters. Jaya came to Paradip port with oil for Indian Oil Corporation (IOC), while Felicity came to Sikka port with oil for Reliance Industries (RIL), according to industry sources.
Earlier this month, the government confirmed that India is buying Iranian crude and there were no payment-related hurdles in buying Tehran’s oil, following the sanctions waiver for Iranian oil on water.
“India imports crude oil from 40+ countries, with companies having full flexibility to source oil from different sources & geographies based on commercial considerations. Amid Middle East supply disruptions, Indian refiners have secured their crude oil requirements, including from Iran; and there is no payment hurdle for Iranian crude imports…,” the Petroleum Ministry had said in an April 4 post on social media platform X.
It had also announced that a tanker carrying Iranian liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) was discharging cargo at the New Mangalore port.
