A tanker loaded with Iranian crude is showing 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 transponder and AIS (Automatic Identification System) have indicated it is headed for the Vadinar Offshore Terminal and is expected to reach the facility by April 4, according to Kpler-owned MarineTraffic and Winward, both providers of global commodity and ship data.
At an inter-ministerial briefing on Wednesday, Mukesh Mangal, additional secretary, shipping ministry, said he had no information about the ship.
A government official later told HT that the ship was heading for India provided it met all the legal documents mandated by international maritime protocols.
The two chief crude agents of Kandla port, which manage the Vadinar terminal, had no knowledge of the matter. Ships usually file documents with agents after finalizing insurance and other procedures, said an official overseeing maritime traffic, requesting anonymity.
The ship loaded crude off Iran’s Kharg Island and first looked at a Chinese destination, according to an update from ship and freight tracking firm Winward.
Certainly, transponder data from ships in the Strait of Hormuz, which Iran has completely closed, is not always reliable due to widespread fraud and misreporting to avoid threats, analysts said.
On March 21, President Donald Trump allowed the sale of Iranian oil already loaded on tankers in an effort to reduce rising crude oil prices. The ship is operated by Chinese company Naikity Shipmanagement Co., Ltd.
India imports about 90% of its crude oil, 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 global supplies have been cut off due to Iran’s crackdown on traffic since the conflict began on February 28.