The three tankers sanctioned by the US last Thursday November 16th regularly shipped Russian Sokol crude to India in recent months, shiptracking data from LSEG and Kpler showed.
India’s ship regulator thought the matter important enough to say that it would be taking government advice on the sanctioned Russian oil vessel, rather than taking a decision itself. The Indian ministry for shipping said in turn that it would follow the advice of the foreign ministry on the matter.
The US on Thursday imposed sanctions on maritime companies and vessels that Office for Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) said had transported Russian oil sold for more than the Group of Seven’s price cap ($60 a barrel for crude).
The Liberian-flagged ships now sanctioned by the US are the Kazan (IMO 9258002), Ligovsky Prospect (IMO 9256066), and NS Century (IMO 9306782). All three Aframax-sized tankers discharged Russian Sokol crude in India in September while two of them made the trip in October, LSEG data showed, which also indicated that NS Century was currently on its way to discharge Sokol crude at Vadinar in India on November 25th.
Sokol crude is produced at the Sakhalin-1 project, now managed by a Rosneft subsidiary. Other shareholders include India’s ONGC Videsh, the overseas investment arm of state-run Oil and Natural Gas Corp and Sakhalin Oil and Gas Development Co (SODECO), a consortium of Japanese firms.
Meanwhile, Russia’s Urals oil prices on Friday November 17th fell below the Western price cap level of $60 per barrel amid a rise in freight rates fuelled by fresh U.S. sanctions on shipowners and weaker global oil prices, two traders said and Reuters calculations showed.
2003-built, Liberia-flagged, 62,395 gt Kazan is owned by Kazan Shipping Inc care of Oil Tankers SCF Management of Dubai, UAE. As Of November 18th the vessel was moored in Nansha, China.
2003-built, Liberia-flagged, 62,586 gt Ligovsky Prospect is owned by Progress Shipping Co Ltd-Lib care of Oil Tankers (SCF) Management of Dubai, UAE. As of November 14th the vessel was moored at Zhoushan, China.
2006-built, Liberia-flagged, 57,248 gt NS Century is owned by Gallion Navigation Inc care of Oil Tankers SCF Management of Dubai, UAE. As of November 18th the vessel was en route from Yeosu, South Korea, to Vadinar, India, ETA November 25th.