Sanctioned Tanker Defies Adani’s Ban, Unloads Russian Oil At Mundra Port

A tanker under Western sanctions has discharged Russian crude oil at India’s Mundra port, even though the Adani Group recently barred entry of blacklisted vessels at all its terminals.

Ship tracking data from LSEG and Kpler showed that the Suezmax tanker Spartan offloaded around 1 million barrels of Urals crude oil at the Hindustan Petroleum-Mittal Energy Ltd (HMEL) terminal in Mundra.

The Spartan, which previously operated under the name SCF Samotlor, is on the sanctions list of both the European Union and the United Kingdom for carrying Russian oil in breach of restrictions.

Vessel ownership and management details available on Equasis identify Dubai-based Nova Shipmanagement as the manager and Citrine Marine as the owner.

This happened soon after Adani Ports issued an order restricting entry of ships blacklisted by the EU, the UK, or the U.S. at its 14 ports, including Mundra in Western India.

Mundra Port is the country’s largest container port and first private port. It is an important hub for oil imports by refiners like HMEL and Indian Oil Corporation (IOC), which also buy crude from Russia.

Meanwhile, another sanctioned ship carrying Russian crude, the Noble Walker, altered its route on Monday. Tracking data from LSEG and Kpler showed it was carrying about 1 million barrels of Russian oil for HMEL. The ship was heading to Mundra until Friday but then diverted to Vadinar port instead.

Reference: Reuters

Source: Maritime Shipping News