Two Russian Urals oil tankers reroute 14 million barrels to ports in India

Russian Oil Tankers Redirected to India Amid Asian Supply Disruptions

According to a Bloomberg report, two tankers transporting Russian crude oil that were originally destined for East Asia have changed course and are now heading to India. This shift comes as Asian markets face significant oil shortages due to halted traffic in the Strait of Hormuz.

Ship-tracking data from Kpler and Vortexa reveals that these vessels are carrying a combined total of approximately 1.4 million barrels of Urals crude. One of the ships, a Suezmax with 730,000 barrels, has already docked at a port on India's eastern coast. The other, an Aframax loaded with 700,000 barrels, is expected to reach Vadinar on the west coast today.

Earlier this week, Bloomberg also noted that India is weighing the option of resuming purchases of Russian oil stored in floating tankers across Asia. This consideration arises as the conflict in Iran and retaliatory actions in the region have caused severe interruptions to Middle Eastern oil shipments.

India, the world's third-largest oil importer, recently convened meetings between government officials and state-run refiners to discuss contingency plans for securing energy supplies in light of escalating tensions in the Middle East. Sources familiar with these discussions indicated that a return to buying Russian crude is among the strategies being considered.

Indian refiners had significantly scaled back their imports of Russian oil after the United States imposed sanctions on Russia’s leading exporters, Rosneft and Lukoil, in November. As a result, Russian crude shipments to India dropped to 1.2 million barrels per day in December 2025—the lowest since 2022—and slipped further to just over 1.1 million barrels daily in January. February’s numbers remained steady, according to Vortexa, which also noted that Indian refiners had diversified towards Middle Eastern oil grades—now affected by the Strait of Hormuz crisis.