Russian oil cargo transferred from sanctioned tankers discharged into China, data shows

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By Chen Aizhu

SINGAPORE (Reuters) – SINGAPORE, March 18 (Reuters) – A ship carrying Russian crude transferred from three smaller tankers that are under U.S. sanctions unloaded last week at a Chinese port, shiptracking data shows, ending an unusual month-long voyage highlighting the efforts of producers and traders to keep Moscow’s oil flowing despite tightened curbs.

The Panama-flagged Daban, one of dozens of non-sanctioned vessels drawn to the Russian oil trade by fat margins following the January 10 U.S. sanctions, was received at a berth run by the privately-controlled Qingdao Haiye Group at the port of Qingdao, two people familiar with the matter said.

Kpler and LSEG data showed the Daban, a very large crude carrier (VLCC) carrying two million barrels of Russian Sokol oil, discharging into Qingdao on March 13, ending a voyage from Russia’s Far East that would ordinarily take about a week.

The Daban transferred oil from Aframax-sized tankers Vladimir Arsenyev on February 3, Captain Kostichev on February 9 and Victor Konetsky on February 10 at Nakhoda Bay in Russian territorial waters, according to tanker tracker Kpler.

The three vessels came under U.S. sanctions on January 10.

Unlike the international waters near Malaysia and Singapore, Nakhoda Bay is not known as a regular site for ship-to-ship (STS) transfers of oil, making Daban’s movements more conspicuous, traders said.

The Daban is managed by Hong Kong-based Confident Apex Ltd, according to LSEG data, but contact information for the company was not available.

STS transfers often take place to mask a cargo’s origin.

China has said it opposes unilateral sanctions.

An unexpected ban by China’s state-owned Shandong Port Group in early January that prohibits callings by U.S.-designated tankers, followed shortly by Washington’s toughest-yet sanctions on Russian oil exports, initially stalled trade of Russian oil into top buyers China and India and sent freight rates soaring.

Freight costs for an Aframax-sized tanker jumped five-fold in February from before the January sanctions to about $7.5 million for a voyage from the Russian Far East to north China.

The Daban’s cargo was initially headed to the port of Yantai in Shandong province, a refining hub and top destination for oil sanctioned by the United States. Yantai, part of Shandong Port Group, rejected the cargo, said several trading sources.

Telephone calls to Yantai Port Group went unanswered, and Yantai Port did not immediately reply to an email seeking comment.

Before the Haiye discharge, a handful of other Chinese terminals, including two privately managed facilities, received sanctioned vessels in the aftermath of the tightened sanctions, Reuters reported.

A Haiye official did not immediately comment when contacted by telephone.

The company did not respond to an emailed request for comment.

(Reporting by Chen Aizhu; Additional reporting by Florence Tan; Editing by Tony Munroe and Clarence Fernandez)