India has started receiving Russian oil tankers after a brief stoppage

A Sovcomflot (SCF) vessel unloaded fuel oil at a western Indian port on Friday, signaling the resumption of SCF vessels for deliveries.

According to Reuters, the SCF Baltica, which is carrying 90 tonnes of fuel oil for Reliance Industries (operator of the world's largest refinery in Jamnagar), is due to leave port in the coming days after fully unloading later on Friday.

Earlier, Indian oil refining companies, including Reliance, became afraid to accept cargo on Sovcomflot vessels after the US imposed sanctions against the Russian shipping giant on February 23.

However, during a visit to India earlier this month, US officials said Washington wanted stable global oil supplies and had not asked India to cut Russian oil imports.

The SCF Baltica is not among the 14 vessels that Washington has imposed sanctions on in recent months. The vessel is managed by Stream Ship Management from the United Arab Emirates, and its owner is listed as Ashbourne Navigation.

Another tanker, Vladimir Tikhonov, which is expected to arrive with Russian oil next week, is also managed by Stream Ship Management and is listed on the SCF website as part of the fleet.

India is the biggest consumer of Russian marine oil, which is sold at a discount after Western countries stopped buying from Moscow because of the war in Ukraine.

Reliance mainly buys Russian crude, but also imports fuel oil for processing at its coking plant to produce refined fuel.