2 months ago
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A crude lipid tanker that acceptable sail from Primorsk successful Russia for Rizhao larboard successful China has changed people successful Southeast Asia and is present heading towards the New Mangalore larboard with 1.1 lakh tonnes (7.7 lakh barrels) of Urals crude, showed ship-tracking data. The vessel is expected to scope Mangaluru connected March 20.
According to marinetraffic.com, Aqua Titan, a Cameroon-registered tanker, near the Russian larboard connected January 18. It anchored astatine Port Suez and departed connected February 21, showed vesselfinder.com.
Sources successful the New Mangalore Port Authority (NMPA) told The Hindu that Aqua Titan’s accomplishment would boost the assurance of the refiner, Mangalore Refinery and Petrochemicals Ltd., (MRPL). They said with 1 tanker already discharging Russian Urals crude astatine the Single Point Mooring (SPM) connected Wednesday, NMPA would person astatine slightest 3 much tankers by month-end.
Ships originating from Primorsk usually instrumentality the way via Suez Canal to scope India’s westbound seashore connected the Arabian Sea. But ship-tracking website Equasis said the Aqua Titan was seen successful North Europe and West Europe successful January, South Asia successful February, Southeast Asia and Singapore Strait successful March, indicating that it circumvented India and past made a U-turn successful Southeast Asia to caput to India.
Usually, chartered ships bash not alteration people midway. But the Aqua Titan is simply a sanctioned vessel. “This is simply a highly sanctioned fleet owned by the Russian government. The Aqua Titan is besides sanctioned truthful the transparency is adjacent worse. Essentially, the acheronian fleet vessels are controlled by the Russian authorities successful the end,” said Erik Grundt, elder analyst, Rystad Energy, an vigor quality institution based successful Norway.
Reports said the vas made a U-turn successful mid-March aft the U.S. said India could import Russian crude for 30 days.
The Aqua Titan, formerly Lang Ya, was sanctioned by the U.K., Australia, Canada, EU and Ukraine. Last June, the vessel was among 60 ships sanctioned by the Australian authorities for carrying Russian crude oil. Back then, the Australian authorities had said that these ships run “under deceptive practices, including flag-hopping, disabling tracking systems”.
Saudi crude connected the way
With the closure of Persian Gulf, Saudi Arabian crude is present being diverted done the Yanbu Port that houses King Fahd Industrial Port connected the Red Sea, NMPA sources said. Yanbu, located connected the Western Coast of Saudi Arabia, has the East-West Petroline Terminal. Though a spot longer, the way avoids the volatile Strait of Hormuz thereby offering harmless transition to tankers.
While 1 lipid tanker with 1.36 lakh tonnes of crude near Yanbu connected Tuesday (March 17, 2026), different was being loaded with 2.6 lakh tonnes of crude for Mangalore. With crude from 2 Russian tankers and 2 from Saudi Arabia, MRPL volition person capable stock. The refiner, with an installed capableness of refining 18.2 cardinal tonnes of crude per annum, astir requires astir 1.5 cardinal tonnes crude a month.
So acold successful March, NMPA has handled 2 tankers astatine the SPM and 3 coastal crude vessels astatine the main port, sources added.
Cargo charges waived off
Ever since the struggle began successful West Asia affecting proviso of petroleum products to India, the Mangalore larboard has waived disconnected cargo charges some for crude and liquefied petroleum state (LPG) tankers, sources said.
For 1 lakh tonne crude, the cargo charges would travel to astir ₹34 lakh. Vessel-handling charges, however, would proceed to beryllium collected. For LPG Tanker Shivalik that was expected to get astatine New Mangalore Port with 26,000 tonnes of LPG, the larboard had promised to waive disconnected ₹50 lakh cargo charges.
Back to Russian crude
Last August, India was slapped 25% tariffs by the U.S. for buying Russian crude oil. In February, aft India and U.S. signed the interim commercialized agreement, U.S. President Donald Trump announced that “India has committed to halt straight oregon indirectly importing Russian Federation oil” and revoked the punitive tariffs.
At its peak, India imported astir 40% of its crude lipid from Russia pursuing the Ukraine warfare astatine discounted rates. The stock was 33% successful May 2025. But India chopped backmost connected Russian crude imports that fell fell to 19.3% successful January 2026, the lowest since December 2022.
Following the U.S.-Israel onslaught connected Iran and the de origin closure of the Strait of Hormuz, crude lipid prices spiked owed to shortage. On March 6, the U.S. temporarily provided India a waiver to bargain Russian crude again. “The Treasury (Department) agreed to fto our allies successful India commencement buying Russian lipid that was already connected the water,” U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent had told Fox Business.
