Iranian Oil Tankers Under Sanctions Arrive in India for the First Time in 7 Years

SadaNews - Two large oil tankers, subject to sanctions and carrying Iranian crude oil, have docked off the ports in India, which may represent the first shipments of this type to reach the country in nearly seven years, at a time when the United States is intensifying efforts to limit Tehran's exports.

India has not received Iranian oil since 2019 due to U.S. sanctions. However, a waiver issued last month allowed for the purchase of crude shipments that were already at sea, in an attempt to mitigate the impact of the war in the Middle East on global supplies.

India, which is considered the third-largest importer of crude oil in the world, has stated that it will purchase shipments from Iran, along with other countries, to address the energy crisis.

It remains unclear how President Donald Trump's plan to impose a blockade on ships transiting the Strait of Hormuz, in an attempt to choke off Iranian shipments following the collapse of peace talks, will affect this waiver or existing purchases.

The Return of Iranian Shipments to India After Years of Discontinuation

Data tracking ships showed that the tanker "Felicity" dropped anchor off Sikka in western India late on Sunday.

"Felicity" is a very large oil tanker owned by the National Iranian Tanker Company, according to the "Equasis" database, carrying two million barrels of Iranian crude loaded from the oil export center on Kharg Island in mid-March.

The "Jaya" tanker began signaling on Sunday that it was moored near Paradip on the eastern coast of India. The vessel had loaded two million barrels of crude from Kharg Island in late February before the United States and Israel began launching attacks on Iran.

The owner of "Jaya" is listed as unknown in the "Equasis" database, which is common for shadow tankers serving the Iranian oil industry.

Uncertainty Surrounding Buyers and the Potential Impact of the Blockade

The United States had permitted the temporary sale of Iranian oil and petrochemical products already loaded on tankers in late March, in an effort to curb rising oil prices due to the war in the Middle East.

Under this waiver, state-owned "Indian Oil Corp" purchased a shipment of Iranian oil, Bloomberg reported last week, although the name of the vessel was not mentioned.

The buyers of the two shipments remain unclear. "Indian Oil Corp" operates facilities using Paradip for crude deliveries. "Reliance Industries" also uses Sikka, alongside "Bharat Petroleum Corp," which manages a single-point mooring facility in the region.

State refinery companies did not immediately respond to requests for comment sent via email.