The seventh and final tanker carrying Sokol oil and sanctioned by the U.S. will arrive at China's Tianjin port on Tuesday night to discharge its Russian oil cargo, LSEG and Kpler shipping data showed, clearing a backlog of the crude stored on ships.
The six other sanctioned tankers offloaded their Sokol oil cargo in China earlier this month, pushing China's March imports of seaborne Russian oil to a record high.
The tankers have all been sanctioned by the U.S. over Russia's war in Ukraine but most of the deliveries are working within a waiver period granted by Washington.
The seventh tanker Sakhalin Island started making its way to the northeastern Chinese port of Tianjin late on Monday after floating off the coast of nearby Shandong province for more than three weeks, the data showed.
Russia has been struggling with a Sokol glut amid ramped up U.S. sanctions. More than 10 million barrels of the oil supplied by Sakhalin-1, a unit of Rosneft (ROSN.MM), have been floating in storage over the past three months amid payment difficulties and sanctions on shipping firms and vessels carrying the crude.
India, the top buyer of Russian crude in 2023, has retreated from purchases amid tighter sanctions, giving top global oil importer China the opportunity to scoop up the light sweet grade from Russia to replace costly Iranian supply, according to traders and shipping data.
Chinese companies that received Sokol crude in March include Sinopec (600028.SS), PetroChina , Sinochem, CNOOC and independent refiners in Shandong, Kpler data showed.
China's seaborne Russian crude imports are set to hit a record high in March at 1.816 million barrels per day, according to Kpler, boosted by record imports of Far East Russian grades including 440,000 bpd of Sokol and 967,000 bpd of ESPO.
Apart from Sakhalin Island, the six other vessels that offloaded Sokol crude in China this month are - Krymsk, Liteyny Prospect, Nellis, NS Antarctic, NS Century and NS Lion.
All tankers, except the NS Century, offloaded their cargo within temporary waiver periods from U.S. sanctions.
Barring Nellis, all tankers are operated by companies tied to Sovcomflot (FLOT.MM). The U.S. has imposed sanctions on Russia's leading tanker group for violating a $60-per-barrel price cap on Russian crude oil exports.
Sovcomflot and Tianjin Port did not immediately respond to requests for comment. The Nellis is operated by HS Nellis Ltd, which could not be immediately reached for comment.
After unloading in China, the Krymsk and Liteyny Prospect are now anchored off Nakhodka, Russia, while the Nellis, NS Antarctic and NS Lion are outside Yeosu, South Korea, LSEG data showed. NS Century is anchored off China's Qingdao.
The G7-led price cap on Russian crude, imposed in December 2022, aims to reduce how much money Russia has available for its war in Ukraine by allowing Western-supplied insurance and other services only on cargoes priced below $60 a barrel.
Beijing has said that it opposes unilateral sanctions and that China's normal trade deserves respect and protection.
