About five million barrels of Russian sokol-grade crude failed to reach Indian refiners in the previous four weeks.
US sanctions on vessels carrying Russian crude in violation of a price cap imposed by the Group of Seven (G7) nations could be a contributing factor.
As per the ship tracking data from LSEG and Kpler, three oil tankers, newly sanctioned by Washington at the time, regularly shipped Russian Sokol crude to India.
India, the world’s third-largest importer, and consumer of oil has increased purchases of discounted Russian oil after some Western countries avoided Russian imports following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine last year.
Since the US Treasury imposed sanctions on it, the NS Century has remained south of Sri Lanka, and it has been joined by two additional Sovcomflot tankers carrying Sokol crude to India’s Vadinar port.
The United Kingdom and the European Union have imposed sanctions and other restrictions on Russian state-owned Sovcomflot (SCF), while the United States has restricted its financial activities.
