Russian oil tanker bound for China diverted to India. Here's why

Vessels with Urals crude bound for China has turned around and is now heading to India.

A Russian oil-laden tanker that was bound for China has U-turned in the South China Sea, and is now hurrying to India after New Delhi began doubling down on imports from Moscow.

The Aqua Titan is set to arrive in New Mangalore on March 21 with its Urals cargo that it loaded from a Baltic Sea port in late January, according to ship-tracking data. The Aframax vessel originally signaled the Chinese port of Rizhao as its destination before making an about-face in Southeast Asian waters in mid-March, days after the US gave the green light for India to temporarily increase Russian purchases.

Indian refiners snapped up a whopping 30 million barrels of Russian oil in the week that followed the concession, a move aimed to help the nation cope with lost Middle Eastern supplies due to the war in Iran.

Since then, more countries have been allowed to resume purchases from Russia. That paves the way for further diversions from China, which has served as Moscow's importer of last resort in recent months after India reduced purchases. The return of buyers, including those in Japan and South Korea, is likely to push prices higher.

At least seven tankers carrying Russian oil have switched their destinations mid-voyage from China to India, according to Vortexa Ltd., with all of India's major refiners now in the market for the country's crude.

Separately, the Suezmax Zouzou N. is signaling India's Sikka as its next destination, with an estimated arrival date of March 25, ship-tracking data show. The tanker is carrying Kazakh CPC Blend crude, according to Kpler. It had sailed from Novorossiysk on Russia's Black Sea to the waters off Rizhao, before turning around in early March to make its way to India.