India seeks ships for Mideast oil as sanctions deadline looms

A surge in bookings for oil tankers to bring cargoes from the Middle East to India points to higher import flows ahead, as sanctions on major Russian producers force the South Asian importer to seek alternatives.

So far this week, roughly a dozen tankers have been chartered to ship crude from countries including Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Iraq and the United Arab Emirates and ferry it across the Arabian Sea, according to shipbroker reports. That’s a jump from the same time last month, when about four fixtures were seen.