Russian tanker reroutes to India as refiners ramp up crude imports.
India buys about 30mn barrels after US eases restrictions.
At least seven vessels divert from China to Indian ports.
Urals crude prices jump nearly 70% amid West Asia disruption.
A Russian oil tanker, originally bound for China, has reversed course in the South China Sea and is now making its way to India, according to a Bloomberg report. This takes place as New Delhi ramps up purchases of Russian crude to compensate for lost West Asia supplies.
The Aqua Titan, an Aframax vessel carrying a cargo of Urals crude loaded from a Baltic Sea port in late January, is now expected to arrive at New Mangalore on 21st March, the report said.
2 March 2026
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Ship-tracking data show the tanker had initially declared the Chinese port of Rizhao as its destination before executing an about-turn in Southeast Asian waters in mid-March — just days after Washington gave India the green light to temporarily increase its Russian oil purchases.
Indian refiners moved quickly once that concession was granted, snapping up roughly 30mn barrels of Russian oil in the week that followed. The buying spree reflects the urgency of India's situation, with West Asian supply routes severely disrupted by the conflict in Iran.
Interestingly, the Aqua Titan is not alone. At least seven tankers carrying Russian crude have switched their destinations mid-voyage from China to India, Bloomberg reported citing Vortexa, with all of India's major refiners now actively purchasing.
A separate vessel, the Suezmax Zouzou N., is also now signalling India's Sikka port as its next stop, with an estimated arrival of 25th March. The tanker, carrying Kazakh CPC Blend crude loaded at Novorossiysk on Russia's Black Sea coast, had similarly sailed towards Rizhao before turning around in early March, it said.
Last week, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi claimed that White House is "begging" India to buy Russian crude after spending months on bullying India into ending oil imports from Russia.
Urals prices in India have surged by nearly $40, or around 70%, since February 27, day before the US and Israel launched an attack on Iran. The current level is the highest since 2022, when Russia began exporting large volumes of oil to the Indian market after being hit by Western sanctions over the invasion of Ukraine.
