Some stranded Russian Sokol oil cargoes begin to move to China, India

Three tankers carrying Russian Sokol crude oil, previously stranded due to payment complications and the impacts of Western sanctions, are now on their way to China and India, according to Reuters. Over the past three months, more than 10 million barrels of Sokol crude had been held in limbo in maritime storage, illustrating the intricate challenges posed by sanctions on shipping firms and vessels engaged in transporting the crude.

The tankers, named NS Century, NS Commander, and Nellis, had been immobile since November but have recently initiated movements towards their destinations, as detailed by data from Kpler and LSEG. These developments come after a tense period of stagnation, which saw a significant quantity of Russian oil temporarily removed from the global market.

The NS Century and Nellis, both sanctioned by the United States for violating a $60 per barrel price cap on Russian oil, are transporting approximately 2.2 million barrels towards ports in China. The NS Commander, not impacted by U.S. sanctions and carrying around 600,000 barrels of Sokol oil, is directed towards Jamnagar port in India.

According to sources, private Chinese refiners are the purported buyers of this cargo. As of the latest updates, around 7.5 million barrels of Sokol remain at sea, a decrease from the over 10 million barrels reported two weeks earlier.