New Delhi, 3 Apr

A US-sanctioned tanker carrying Iranian crude oil has rerouted mid-voyage from its previously indicated destination of India - where it would have marked the first such shipment in nearly seven years - to China.

The Aframax tanker Ping Shun, built in 2002 and sanctioned by the US in 2025, is now signalling Dongying in China as its destination instead of Vadinar in Gujarat, which it had indicated earlier this week, according to ship-tracking firm Kpler.

There is no confirmation that the destination that the ship's Automatic Identification System (AIS) transponder - a tracking system mandated on most commercial vessels - is indicating is the final and it may not change at any time during the transit.

"An Iranian crude vessel 'Ping Shun' that had been en route to Vadinar, India, over the past three days has dropped India as its declared destination near arrival and is now signalling China," said Sumit Ritolia, Lead Research Analyst, Refining and Modelling at commodity market analytic firm Kpler.

Oil on Ping Shun would have been the first Iranian crude that India would have purchased since 2019. Indian refiners have been looking at opportunities to purchase a few cargoes of Iranian oil on water following the recent sanctions waiver by Washington.

According to Ritolia, the shift in destination of Ping Shun appears to be payment-related, with sellers tightening terms, moving away from the earlier 30-60 day credit window toward upfront or near-term settlement.

It was not clear who was the actual seller and buyer of the crude.

Vadinar is home for 20 million tonnes a year oil refinery of Russian oil giant Rosneft-backed Nayara Energy.

"While such mid-voyage destination changes are not unprecedented with Iranian crudes, they highlight the increasing sensitivity of trade flows to financial terms and counterparty risk," he said.

"If the payment issues are resolved, the cargo could still make its way to an Indian refinery. However, the episode underscores how commercial terms are becoming as critical as logistics in determining Iranian crude flows to other countries apart from China."

India's oil ministry has so far maintained that techno-commercial feasibility will drive the decision on resuming buying Iranian crude.

Historically, India was a major buyer of Iranian crude, importing significant volumes of Iranian light and heavy grades due to strong refinery compatibility and favourable commercial terms.

Following sanctions tightening in 2018, imports ceased fromMay 2019, with volumes replaced by Middle Eastern, US and other grades. At peak, Iranian crude accounted for 11.5 per cent of India's total imports.

India used to buy 518,000 barrels per day of Iranian oil in 2018, which slowed to 268,000 bpd between January and May 2019 when the US granted waivers to a few buyers. There have been no imports since.

The key grades that Indian refiners used to purchase are Iran light and Iran heavy crudes.

The US last month waived sanctions on the purchase of Iranian oil at sea for 30 days in its latest attempt to ease oil prices that have been driven up by the US-Israeli war on Iran.

That window expires on 19 April. An estimated 95 million barrels of Iranian oil is on vessels on sea, of which around 51 million barrels could be sold to India while the remaining are better suited for buyers in China and Southeast Asia.

Ping Shun is estimated to be carrying about 600,000 barrels of oil that was loaded from Kharg Island around 4 March. Its declared ETA to Vadinar was April 4, according to Kpler.

While the US waiver allowed countries to purchase those barrels, it is unclear how payments will be made.

Iran remains cut off from SWIFT (Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication) - a global messaging network used by banks and financial institutions to securely send and receive information about financial transactions.

Last purchases from Iran were done in Euro using a Turkish bank as a go-between but that option no longer exists.

Iran was cut off from the SWIFT system in March 2012 following European Union sanctions over its nuclear programme, with the move forcing the disconnection of multiple Iranian banks and severely restricting global financial transactions.

Further disruptions occurred in 2018 after the US reimposed sanctions, leading to renewed suspension of several Iranian banks from the network, which significantly constrained Tehran's ability to conduct international trade, receive oil payments and access foreign currency reserves.