Sanctioned Russian Oil Tanker Sitting Off The Indian Coast For A Week Shows The Nation’s Oil Dilemma

A Russian oil vessel has been floating at a distance of 1,600 miles off the coastlines of India while the country debates whether to allow the ship to land.

According to Bloomberg, the NS Century was scheduled to dock in India after travelling from South Korea, but it has already been afloat for 10 days.

This is because Indian officials are debating whether or not to allow the tanker to dump its cargo, with directives from the Indian government still pending, according to India’s Directorate General of Shipping.

The ship was on its way to India’s Vadinar port, where the Indian Oil Corporation has a facility and Nayara Energy, the Indo-Russian energy conglomerate, has a refinery. However, the cargo on the NS Century has no connection to Nayara’s refinery, per a Nayara spokeswoman on Monday.

Indian Oil Corp. and Nayara did not respond immediately to Business Insider’s inquiries about the ship or its cargo.

The argument over whether the ship can dock comes as the West tightens sanctions on Russian oil, with the US penalizing five cargo vessels, including the NS Century, last week for selling Russian oil exceeding the G7’s $60 price ceiling.

The cap is part of an effort to limit Moscow’s energy revenue. At the same time, Russia’s invasion of Ukraine continues a topic on which India has decided to remain strategically neutral since the war began in 2022, even though the country was among the country’s top oil consumers last year, according to Kepler data.

India faces pressure to maintain good relations with the United States. Recently, Russian oil exports to India have encountered a few hitches as India becomes wary of paying for petroleum in Chinese yuan. According to Reuters, the country has at least seven unpaid oil shipments from Russia as of October.

Reference- Business Insider

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Source: Maritime Shipping News