A tanker with Iranian crude oil has been flashing India’s west coast as its destination, according to maritime tracking sites, in what could be the first such import in nearly seven years.
The Eswatini-flagged Ping Shun’s transponders and AIS (automatic identity system) have signalled it is headed for the Vadinar offshore terminal and is expected to reach the facility by April 4, according to the Kpler-owned MarineTraffic and Winward, both providers of global commodity and ship data.
At an interministerial briefing earlier on Wednesday, Mukesh Mangal, additional secretary, shipping ministry, said he had no knowledge of the ship.
A government official later told HT that the vessel was headed for India, subject to it fulfilling all legal documentation mandated by international maritime protocols.
Two main crude agents for Kandla port, which administers the Vadinar terminal, had no knowledge of the matter. Ships usually file documentation with agents after finalising insurance and other procedures, an official overseeing marine traffic said, requesting anonymity.
The ship loaded crude from Iran Kharg Island and previously flashed a Chinese destination, according to an update by Winward, a ship and freight tracking firm.
To be sure, transponder data from ships in the Strait of Hormuz, which Iran has all but shut down, isn’t always reliable because of widespread spoofing and misreporting to escape danger, analysts said.
On March 21, President Donald Trump allowed the sale of Iranian oil already loaded onto tankers in an attempt to cool soaring crude prices. The ship is operated by Nycity Shipmanagement Co. Ltd, a Chinese firm.
India imports nearly 90% of its crude, half of its liquefied natural gas and two-thirds of its LPG, most of which comes from West Asia through the Strait of Hormuz, where Iran’s crackdown on traffic has choked off global supplies since the conflict began on Feb 28.
