Russia's Sibur diverts LPG to Turkey after Dutch offloading issues, sources say

Russian petrochemical producer Sibur has diverted cargoes of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) to Turkey because of it was unable to offload them in the Amsterdam-Rotterdam-Antwerp region, three industry sources told Reuters.

The Refinitiv Eikon ship tracking system shows four tankers from the Baltic Sea port of Uts-Luga carrying in total 48,000 tonnes of LPG were destined for ARA in the second half of March.

According to Refinitiv data and shipping agents, the Navigator Leo tanker has been at the port of Rotterdam since March 17 and has yet to be offloaded.

Traders also said that Navigator Luga and Navigator Libra have been diverted to the Turkish port of Dortyol. An industry source said the cargoes were bought by Aygaz (AYGAZ.IS), Turkey's largest importer and distributor of LPG.

None of the sources could be named because of the sensitivity of the issue.

A cargo from Sibur Tobol was re-loaded onto another tanker, Eco Freeze in the port of Rotterdam on April 2-3.

Although Sibur has not been placed under Western sanctions following the Ukraine crisis, one trader said offloading had become complicated because banks are refusing to facilitate payments for products from Russia.

While the sanctions do not restrict purchases of Russian oil products, including LPG, restrictions on the Russian financial system have complicated payments, insurance and freight.

Sibur did not respond to a Reuters request for comment.