India is allowing state refiners to import Iranian oil with Tehran arranging tankers and insurance after firms including the country’s top shipper Shipping Corp of India (SCI) (SCI.NS) halted voyages to Iran due to U.S. sanctions, sources have told Reuters.
New Delhi’s attempt to keep Iranian oil flowing is a step already taken by China, where buyers are shifting nearly all their Iranian oil imports to vessels owned by National Iranian Tanker Co (NITC).
“We have the same situation (as most Western shippers) because there is no cover, so we cannot go (to Iran),” an SCI official told Reuters.
New Delhi turned to the NITC fleet after most insurers and reinsurers had begun winding down services for Iran, wanting to avoid falling foul of the sanctions given their large exposure to the United States.
SCI had a contract until August to import Iranian oil for Mangalore Refinery and Petrochemicals Ltd (MRPL) (MRPL.NS), two sources familiar with the matter said.
Eurotankers, which had a deal with MRPL to import two Iranian oil cargoes every month, has also said it cannot undertake Iranian voyages from September, the sources said.
The sources spoke on condition of anonymity as they were not allowed to talk to the media about commercial deals, according to Reuters.
After the US withdrawal, the other signatories to Iran nuclear deal, namely Russia, China, the UK, France and Germany, have strongly objected to the US’s action, and have vowed to make every effort to preserve the deal by providing a mechanism to safeguard Iran's economic interests, including oil sales.
KI/PR
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