By Trixie Yap
SINGAPORE (Reuters) -Three vessels laden with oil products from India’s Nayara Energy have yet to discharge their cargoes, hindered by new EU sanctions on the Russia-backed refiner, according to shipping data and sources.
Nayara Energy, which runs India’s third-biggest refinery, is majority-owned by Russian entities, including oil major Rosneft. It was hit with European Union sanctions on July 18 targeting Russia and its oil trade, causing shippers and traders to shun dealing with its cargoes.
The Panamax-sized tanker Alora, chartered by Nayara Energy and carrying around 60,000 metric tons (472,800 barrels) of jet fuel loaded in early June, has been anchored off Portugal’s Sines port since arriving there on July 18, Kpler and LSEG data showed.
The cargo has been paid for, said a person familiar with the matter. However, the vessel has been unable to discharge as some EU oil surveyors and other companies are reluctant to deal with products linked to a sanctioned entity, according to the person and a second source.
Reuters was not able to learn the identity of the buyer.
Sources for this article were not authorised to speak to media and declined to be identified.
Nayara Energy did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment. It typically sells at least 2-3 spot cargoes of diesel and jet fuel per month.
The refiner, which called the sanctions unjustified and illegal, has been forced to reduce operations at its 400,000-barrels-per-day crude unit due to fuel storage constraints. Some vessel owners have also asked to end their contracts, sources have said.
TWO MORE TANKERS
A second Panamax tanker, Em Zenith, had been scheduled to arrive at Malaysia’s Tanjung Pelepas port this Thursday, but it reversed course on Tuesday and is anchored in the Straits of Malacca, Kpler and LSEG data showed.
The Singapore-flagged ship is carrying around 40,000 tons of diesel loaded from Nayara Energy’s Vadinar port in mid-July, according to the data. The cargo was likely intended to be used for bunker fuel blending, several industry sources said.
Equatorial Marine owns Em Zenith, according to two shipbroking sources. The firm, a major bunker supplier in Singapore, did not immediately reply to a request for comment.
A third tanker, Panamax-sized Pacific Martina, chartered by Shell, has been floating near the Gulf of Oman since last week after receiving 60,000 tons of jet fuel from Vadinar port on July 18. The cargo has yet to find a buyer, said the first source.
Shell declined to comment.
Last week, a crude tanker was diverted away from Nayara Energy’s Vadinar port, and two product tankers skipped planned diesel loadings from the refiner.
(Reporting by Trixie Yap; Editing by Florence Tan and Edwina Gibbs)
