&imwidth=800&imheight=600&format=webp&quality=medium "Ship carrying Iranian crude to Indian port in Gujarat reroutes to China")
A US-sanctioned tanker carrying Iranian crude oil that had been heading to India has now changed its destination and is going to China. If the ship hadn't rerouted, it would have been the first Iranian crude shipment to India in nearly seven years. The Aframax tanker Ping Shun, built in 2002 and sanctioned by the US in 2025, is now signalling Dongying in China as its destination instead of Vadinar in Gujarat, which it had indicated earlier this week, according to ship-tracking firm Kpler.
However, it is not yet confirmed that the destination that the ship’s Automatic Identification System (AIS) transponder is indicating is final.
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The oil on Ping Shun would have been the first Iranian crude that India would have purchased since 2019. Indian refiners have been showing interest in buying a few cargoes of Iranian oil on water following the recent sanctions waiver by Washington.
Some analysts say the reason for Pin Shun’s destination change appears to be some payment-related issue, as sellers have been tightening terms, moving away from the earlier 30–60 day credit window to an upfront or near-term settlement.
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Iran remains cut off from SWIFT (Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication)—a global messaging network used by banks and financial institutions to securely send and receive information about financial transactions.
Vadinar has a 20 million-tonne-a-year oil refinery run by Russian oil giant Rosneft-backed Naraya Energy.
However, if the payment issue is sorted out, the cargo could still make its way to an Indian refinery.
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India used to be a major buyer of Iranian crude and imported significant volumes of Iranian light and heavy grades due to strong refinery compatibility and favourable commercial terms.
However, imports ceased in May 2019 after the tightening of sanctions in 2018. At the peak time, Iranian crude accounted for 11.5 per cent of India’s total imports.
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Last month, the US waived sanctions on the purchase of Iranian oil at sea for 30 days in an attempt to ease oil prices. The window is set to expire on April 19.
An estimated 95 million barrels of Iranian oil are on vessels at sea, of which around 51 million barrels could be sold to India, while the remaining are better suited for buyers in China and Southeast Asia.
Ping Shun is estimated to be carrying about 600,000 barrels of oil that was loaded from Kharg Island around March 4.
