&imwidth=800&imheight=600&format=webp&quality=medium "India receives 6 million barrels of Iranian Oil as Hormuz blockade returns")
India has successfully purchased approximately 6 million barrels of Iranian crude oil this week. The Consulate General of Iran in Hyderabad on Saturday said in a social media post on the platform X, citing a report by the Fars News Agency, that the supertanker Dorena arrived off India's southern coast on Saturday, April 18, 2026, transiting through the Strait of Hormuz just before the blockade was reimposed by Iran. The Strait returned to its previous status after less than 24 hours of opening the vital trade choke point.
"TankerTrackers reported that the Iranian VLCC "DORENA" was last seen in Iran just hours before sanctions were imposed. The vessel has now appeared on the AIS tracking system off India’s Southern coast and is set to deliver approximately two million barrels of crude oil to a local refinery on the final day of a US sanctions waiver," read a report by the Iranian Fars News Agency.
The arrival of the supertanker "DORENA" marks the arrival of the third such tanker within a week. It was carrying 2 million barrels. The other two tankers were MT Jaya, which reached Paradip Port in Odisha earlier this week with 2 million barrels for the Indian Oil Corporation and MT Felicity, which anchored off Sikka Port in Gujarat with 2 million barrels, intended for refiners such as Reliance Industries.
These 6 million barrels of Iranian crude oil arrive in India as the temporary US sanctions waiver on Iranian oil, which permitted the movement of oil already stranded at sea, is set to expire on April 19, 2026. The West Asia conflict remains in a precarious situation as a brief opening of the Strait of Hormuz was soon closed as the US refused to remove its blockade. Iran's military said on Saturday, “control of the Strait of Hormuz has returned to its previous state ... under strict management and control of the armed forces,” as long as the US blockade of Iranian ports continues.
