Iran War News: A shortage of oil has currently arisen due to the ongoing conflict between Iran and the United States. Recently, an oil tanker carrying approximately 2 million barrels of crude oil from Iran arrived in Gujarat; however, no one was aware of its arrival. According to reports, Indian oil refining companies (refiners) will not accept this oil tanker. The reason for this is that no one knows who purchased these vessels, where they originated, or other such details.
Why will the oil not be accepted?
The ‘Derya’—a Very Large Crude Carrier (VLCC)—arrived at a port in Gujarat on Tuesday. According to vessel tracking data from Kepler, this ship was loaded with Iranian crude oil on March 28. This date falls beyond the deadline established under the U.S. sanctions waivers, which permitted the sale of Iranian oil loaded onto vessels prior to March 20. On March 20, the Trump administration issued a 30-day waiver to its sanctions, permitting the sale of Iranian oil stranded at sea in an effort to alleviate pressure on global supplies. Under the U.S. Treasury Department’s authorization, this waiver permits the sale of Iranian crude oil and petroleum products that had already been loaded onto vessels between March 20 and April 19.
If cargo loaded after the deadline stipulated under this waiver is accepted, buyers could face U.S. secondary sanctions; consequently, Indian refineries will be unable to handle this shipment. Reports also indicate that while India has indeed purchased some Iranian oil recently under the waiver, those purchases were executed strictly within the designated timeframe.
The Waiver Period Will Not Be Extended
The United States has also signaled that it will not extend the waiver regarding these sanctions. On Monday, following the failure of talks between Washington and Tehran, the U.S. Navy initiated a blockade of Iranian ports. According to sources, finding a buyer for the ‘Derya’ tanker—other than China—could prove difficult. According to global shipping databases, the U.S. has imposed sanctions on this tanker, which is operated by Iran’s National Iranian Tanker Company. Data from Kepler’s MarineTraffic service indicates that as of Wednesday afternoon, the vessel was located near Gujarat and has shown very little movement since its arrival. Following a waiver granted by the U.S., at least two Iranian oil tankers and one Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) tanker have arrived at Indian ports over the past few days, marking the first such arrivals from Iran to India in nearly seven years.