Russian oil tanker reaches India as Iran war disrupts supplies

Russian oil tanker Aqua Titan was seen at sea on Sunday (March 22) as local media reported its arrival at India’s southern New Mangalore port. The country has faced disruptions to its oil supply triggered by the U.S.-Israeli war with Iran.

Traditional supply routes were disrupted after the U.S.-Israeli war on Iran broke out on February 28, halting shipments via the Strait of Hormuz.

The U.S. on March 12 issued a 30-day waiver for countries to buy sanctioned Russian oil and petroleum products currently stranded at sea, in what Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said ‌was a step to stabilize global energy markets roiled by the Iran war.

India's Russian oil imports in February were 32% lower than a year ago and 1.7% below January levels, the data showed. But they have since rebounded to around 1.8 million bpd and could reach 2 million to 2.2 million bpd in March, according to Sumit Ritolia, lead research analyst at ship tracking firm Kpler.

Production: David O’Sullivan/Reuters