India is now the largest buyer of Russian oil shipped by sea, especially after Western countries cut back purchases due to the war in Ukraine. India’s imports of Russian crude oil are projected to hit a new high of 2.196 million barrels per day in May.
A lot of this oil is a type called Sokol crude, pumped from Russia’s Far East. One recent delivery of about 1 million barrels of Sokol crude arrived at the Jamnagar refinery, which is owned by Reliance Industries Ltd. But it didn’t get there directly. The journey was long and involved several different tankers — some of them sanctioned by the United States or the United Kingdom.
Among the tankers involved was the Viktor Titov, a vessel under US sanctions, which loaded approximately 500,000 barrels of oil at Russia’s De-Kastri terminal. Then, it sailed toward Nakhodka Bay, where it transferred the oil to another ship, Night Glory. That tanker later met a third ship, Cordelia Moon, off the coast of Malaysia. Cordelia Moon eventually delivered the oil to the Indian refinery in late May.
Both Night Glory and Cordelia Moon are under UK sanctions, but not US sanctions. Still, their involvement makes the delivery path complicated, especially since India has said before that it does not allow US-sanctioned ships to unload at its ports.
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Web of Ships and Sanctions
This is not a one-time case. Other US-sanctioned tankers are also part of this complex trade network.
For example, the ship Captain Kostichev picked up 699,000 barrels of Sokol crude from Sakhalin 1 in late April. It later transferred the oil to a ship called Monte 1, which is expected to arrive at Jamnagar in early June.
Another ship, Victor Konetsky, made a transfer to Night Glory in Nakhodka Bay in mid-May. The constant use of Night Glory in different transfers shows how some vessels are central to these operations, even if they are sanctioned.
All these ship-to-ship transfers often happen far from the public eye, in places like Nakhodka Bay or off the coast of Malaysia. This makes it harder to trace the oil’s journey clearly.
Even though India has said it won’t allow US-sanctioned tankers to discharge cargo, the government also says it only follows sanctions issued by the United Nations — not those from individual countries or groups like the US or UK. This stance allows oil transported through these complex routes to reach Indian shores.
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Silence from Key Players
Many companies involved in these shipments have not answered questions about the transfers. Reliance Industries, which runs the Jamnagar refinery, did not respond to emails asking for comment.
The owners of Viktor Titov, Captain Kostichev, and Victor Konetsky — all of which share the same contact details — didn’t respond to phone calls. The company that owns Night Glory, based in China, and the safety manager for Cordelia Moon also did not reply to messages.
With multiple countries, companies, and ships involved, tracing responsibility becomes difficult. Indian refiners, such as those at Reliance, may not even know the full path the oil has taken. According to energy expert Vandana Hari, “they can’t be held accountable for how the crude is transported,” which reflects the blurry line between legal and questionable shipping practices.
As these oil flows continue, the mix of sanctioned ships, long transfer chains, and lack of clear oversight creates a foggy picture of the global oil trade — especially between Russia and India.
