A tanker with Russian oil and a broken engine managed to unload in India

An engine broke down on an oil tanker that was delivering Russian oil from the Far East to India, but the vessel still managed to unload the raw materials.

"The tanker Destan managed to unload Russian oil in India after delays due to engine problems," Reuters reports, citing sources.

The vessel was carrying 80 thousand tons of oil from the Far East and, according to the agency, could not unload at the port of Vadinar for three weeks. According to sources, the unloading of the tanker was delayed due to problems with the main engine. But it seems to have been solved.

"The tanker has unloaded its cargo and is now heading back," one of the sources added.

The vessel was carrying ESPO grade for the state-owned Indian Oil Corp. On June 30, the tanker left the Far Eastern port of Kozmino, where the ESPO oil pipeline fits.

The tanker Destan is considered a vessel of the shadow fleet, since it is 16 years old, and its owner Victory Shipping & Marine from Seychelles is unknown to anyone.

It was the gray fleet that became the basis for transporting Russian oil to India after The EU has banned the import of raw materials from Russia and together with the "Big Seven" introduced a limit on the price of Russian oil for third countries on December 5, 2022.

According to Bimco, the share of Russian oil in India's imports has grown to 40%.

"Since the beginning of the year, volumes have reached an average of 1.6 million barrels per day... this is 1000% more compared to 2021," said Bimco chief shipping analyst Nils Rasmussen.