US sanctions on Russia's oil-shipping firms may leave India at sea

Washington is chipping away at the so-called shadow fleet that transports oil to China, India and Turkiye among others

Washington is slowly but steadily cutting the umbilical cord that links Russian oil to India — shipping. The US, on Friday, unleashed the largest sanctions package, partly directed at Sovcomflot, Russia’s state-owned shipping behemoth, and on 14 of its vessels, which are some of the biggest carriers of Russian oil to India regularly.  

Since January 2023, the newly-sanctioned tankers have transported around 68 cargoes to India, equivalent to around 6 per cent of the total Russian crude imports last year.

That’s approximately 48 million barrels of oil, more than what Nigeria, a key crude oil supplier to India before the