Chinese and Indian oil traders have been responsible for the explosive growth of dark fleet tankers hauling Russian crude to Asia, evading Western sanctions.
A new report titled “BRICS+ Energy: Engine of the New World Order” from the Valdai International Discussion Club, authored by Deputy Head of the National Energy Security Fund Alexey Grivach, was first cited by Russian media outlet TASS News. The report stated that Russia’s oil exports were diverted from Europe to Asia because of G7 sanctions. The largest demand for Russian crude oil in 2023 came from just two BRIC countries: India and China.
“When the G7 countries decided to crush the Russian economy and energy sector with sanctions, alternative trade mechanisms, including transportation, insurance and payments for energy had to be created in a hurry and practically from scratch. Oil supplies from Russia to India in 2023 increased 18 times compared to 2021 from 4.5 mln tons to 82 mln tons, and to China – by a third from 80 mln tons to 107 mln tons. As a result, 78% of Russian crude oil exports went to these two BRICS partners, whereas in 2021 their share was 32%,” the report said.
Robin Brooks, senior fellow at the Brookings Institute, pointed out on X that India’s imports from Russia jumped 900% versus the pre-invasion period. He said this is primarily because Russian crude gets sent to India for refining and then “shipped back to Europe,” adding, “It’d be fine if this happened on Western-owned oil tankers in compliance with the G7 cap. But this happens on shadow fleet vessels. That helps Putin…”
India’s imports from Russia are up 900% versus pre-invasion. This is mostly crude that gets refined and shipped back to Europe. It’d be fine if this happened on Western-owned oil tankers in compliance with the G7 cap. But this happens on shadow fleet vessels. That helps Putin… pic.twitter.com/SHWMRXOEGX
— Robin Brooks (@robin_j_brooks) September 23, 2024
“Do you see this train of oil tankers going through the Red Sea and the troubled waters of Bab Al Mandab near Yemen? They are all carrying Russian Urals crude!” Anas Alhajji, an energy market expert based in Dallas, wrote on X.
Do you see this train of oil tankers going through the Red Sea and the troubled waters of Bab Al Mandab near Yemen? They are all carrying Russian Urals crude! #Russia #India #Oil #Sanctions #PriceCap
Map Source: Kpler, Oct 17, 2024. pic.twitter.com/d8eh2jNMGR
— Anas Alhajji (@anasalhajji) October 18, 2024
TankerTrackers.com shows how the global oil tanker Dark Fleet is being deployed. In other words, Russia and other US-sanctioned countries are running circles around Washington and Brussels.
This is how the oil tanker Dark Fleet is being utilized. These stats reflect on the past year’s average and are stated in bpd (barrels per day).
– Iran to China: 1,504,054– Russia to India: 390,148– Russia to China: 366,589– Venezuela to China: 325,474– Iran to UAE: 200,992… pic.twitter.com/8beBJ8v2x4
— TankerTrackers.com, Inc. (@TankerTrackers) September 3, 2024
India plays a crucial role in the global oil trade with its massive refineries. Russia’s crude oil is transformed into crude products and then exported to the West. We explained earlier this year how this is undermining G7 sanctions against Moscow:
Brooks pointed out in mid-July, “India has become a massive refinery for Russian oil. That’d be fine if Russian oil went to India on Western ships operating under the G7 cap, but lots of this oil gets shipped on Putin’s shadow fleet, which means India is helping fund Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. This must stop.”
The big takeaway is that failed Western sanctions have only accelerated the de-dollarization trend by impacting the US dollar’s international status in trade. In other words, dollar hegemony is in big trouble in the long run.
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