India denies entry to Russian oil tanker
Photo: India bans a tanker carrying Russian oil (Getty Images)
A tanker carrying Russian crude oil for the state-owned Indian Oil Corporation was denied entry to a local port. The tanker does not have proper documentation of its seaworthiness, Bloomberg reports.
The Honduran-flagged Andaman Skies, built in 2004, loaded 767,000 barrels in Murmansk on February 24 and was due to be unloaded in Vadinar on March 30.
Indian regulations require tankers over 20 years old to have a certificate of seaworthiness issued by a member of the International Association of Classification Societies or an organization authorized by the local regulator. The vessel was certified by a local consulting company, Dakar Class, which is not recognized by the Indian authorities.
The vessel is currently in the Arabian Sea between Oman and India, still fully loaded, and has stopped sailing, according to ship tracking data.
According to sources, the ship was allowed to enter an Indian port last year, as it had not even served 20 years at the time.
India has been an important destination for Russian crude oil shipments by sea since Russia's invasion of Ukraine in 2022, and the country's import flows have been closely watched by the market, as many vessels have been sanctioned.
However, the Andaman Skies was not included in the US sanctions list targeting ships carrying Russian oil, although it was sanctioned by the British authorities.
According to the Defense Intelligence of Ukraine, the Russian shadow fleet currently includes up to 1,000 units of mostly obsolete vessels (with a total deadweight of more than 100 million tons) that export oil and oil products.
