Almost five million barrels of Russia’s Sokol grade crude should have reached Indian refiners over the past four weeks.
None of it has got there, with tankers idling miles from their destinations — in one case for more than a month.
It’s unclear what’s holding the vessels up, but US sanctions on tankers hauling Russian crude in breach of a price cap imposed by the Group of Seven nations might be part of the cause.
The US Treasury sanctioned its first two ships tied to the Russian oil trade in mid-October. It followed with another three in mid-November and a further three at the start of December.
