Reuters: Russian naphtha shipment stuck off India following US sanctions

A shipment of Russian naphtha has been stranded off India’s western coast since October 26, unable to unload, after U.S. sanctions on two key Russian suppliers disrupted Indian oil and fuel imports, traders and shipping data confirmed, per Reuters

After the U.S. imposed new Ukraine-related sanctions on Russia last week, Indian refiners indicated they were ready to sharply curtail Russian oil imports, as New Delhi already faces punitive 50% tariffs on its exports to the United States.

India is the second-largest buyer of Russian naphtha after Taiwan. In September, Russia shipped around 170,000 metric tons of the fuel used as a feedstock for petrochemicals and gasoline to India, market sources said, with shipping data confirming the figures.

“All of these cargoes have already been discharged in India, with the exception of around 40,000 tons of naphtha on the vessel that has been stuck near the port of Mundra in the western state of Gujarat,” the sources and shipping data showed.

The cargo, loaded at the Russian Baltic port of Ust-Luga and destined for Mundra, could not be linked to a specific buyer or seller.

According to LSEG data, naphtha loadings from Russian ports bound for India totaled around 185,000 tons in October so far, with most of the cargoes still at sea.

By Khagan Isayev