Russia receives gasoline from India for the first time — all this against the backdrop of a crisis caused by Ukrainian attacks on refineries
- Author:
- Olha Bereziuk
- Date:
Russia has received gasoline from India for the first time as Ukrainian strikes on its oil refineries are causing an acute fuel shortage in the domestic market.
Bloomberg reports this, citing data from the analytical company Kpler.
The first ship with fuel arrived on August 5, and according to Kpler, further batches may arrive. The source of this fuel was the Indian oil refinery “Nayara Energy Ltd.”, a company in which “Rosneft” has a stake.
For the first delivery, the Russian-flagged tanker “Cyclone” (formerly “Agni”) loaded 42 000 tons of gasoline in Vadinar on June 18, according to ship tracking data compiled by Bloomberg. The fuel was then transferred to the Omani-flagged Garnet at the port of Damietta, off Egypt’s Mediterranean coast, on July 6. The ship arrived in Russia in early August.
This may not be the last such shipment. The tanker “Varg” loaded nearly 40 000 tons of fuel in Vadinar on July 6 and likely performed a ship-to-ship transfer in Damietta in late July, judging by changes in its draft, Kpler reported. This type of transfer is usually done to reduce the transit time of individual ships.
The recipient ship has not yet been confirmed, although Kpler has named the Beast as a possible option. The ship had stated its destination as Tangier, Morocco, but has already passed that port and is now heading north across the Atlantic Ocean with cargo on board.
Another tanker, the Cameroon-flagged Photon, also left Vadinar on July 13, and on July 28-29, it transshipped its cargo of gasoline in Damietta onto the Russian-flagged Talisman.
All of these vessels are registered in Russia, with the exception of the Garnet. All of them are under EU sanctions, and Garnet and Talisman are additionally subject to US sanctions.
- In July, Russia experienced a major fuel crisis amid Ukraineʼs attacks on refineries. Since April 1, Russia has banned the export of gasoline, and in early June, the Russian government banned the export of aviation kerosene for the first time.
For more news and in-depth stories from Ukraine, please follow us on X.