Six tankers with nearly 5m barrels of Russian crude on board have failed to reach Indian ports, according to Bloomberg.
Five of the vessels are controlled by sanctioned Russian state shipowner Sovcomflot (SCF Group), the report said.
US sanctions against breaches of the $60 price cap on Russian oil could be the reason that some of these vessels have been idling for weeks, the news agency speculated.
Sovcomflot has been contacted for comment.
TradeWinds has previously reported that the shipowner’s 105,700-dwt NS Century (built 2006) was sanctioned by the US in November for an alleged price cap breach.
Two days after this, the vessel halted south of Sri Lanka while carrying Russian oil to the Indian port of Vadinar, Bloomberg reported.
The NS Century has been out of range for AIS updates since 13 December, when it was shown stopped in the Laccadive Sea.
In the last seven days, the aframax has been joined by two other Sovcomflot-owned tankers carrying oil to Vadinar, Bloomberg claimed.
Two more vessels heading to Paradip have also been halted, and could soon be joined by another ship, the report said.
Big buyer of Russian oil
Reuters said the tankers have been carrying the Sokol grade of crude.
India has been buying more than 60% of Russia’s seaborne oil.
On Wednesday, the US blacklisted Sovcomflot’s ship affiliate, Sun Ship Management, as it strengthened enforcement of the price cap.
TradeWinds reported this was the US' hardest blow yet against the company.
Dubai-based Sun Ship has 24 vessels under management, according to Equasis data.
The move came after sanctions by the UK and European Union against Sun Ship.
The Treasury Department cited Sun Ship’s management of the 157,300-dwt suezmax SCF Primorye (built 2009), which the US blacklisted in October for carrying oil above the price cap while it was “using services of a covered US provider”.
In November, TradeWinds reported that Sovcomflot would appeal against the sanctioning of four of its tankers for alleged oil cap breaches.
