BP-Chartered Tanker Departed Sanctioned Nayara Port Without Cargo

By Trixie Yap and Nidhi Verma

SINGAPORE/NEW DELHI (Reuters) -A tanker chartered by energy major BP left a port run by newly sanctioned Indian refiner Nayara Energy without loading, according to five industry sources and LSEG shipping data, a sign fresh European Union curbs on Russia are beginning to bite.

The vessel Talara was supposed to load 60,000 metric tons (447,000 barrels) of ultra-low sulphur diesel on July 21 at Nayara's Vadinar port in western India, with the cargo bound for Africa, LSEG data showed.

Nayara, partly-owned by Russia's largest oil producer Rosneft, and BP did not immediately respond to requests for comment. The sources declined to be named as they were not authorised to speak to the media.

The change in loading plan suggests that EU sanctions imposed on Nayara on Friday are disrupting refined products exports from the Russia-backed refiner, one of the two private fuel exporters in India.

The Talara did not load the cargo after the EU imposed the sanctions, one of the sources said. The sanctions package against Russia over its war in Ukraine is aimed at dealing further blows to Russia's oil and energy industry.

BP subsequently released the ship, making it available for charter within India or the Middle East region, two of the sources said.

On Monday, Nayara said in a statement that it condemned the EU's "unjust and unilateral" decision to impose sanctions on the company, while India said on Friday it did not support the EU's "unilateral sanctions".

Following the EU sanctions, Nayara Energy amended the terms of a naphtha tender issued on Monday to obtain payment in advance, a tender document seen by Reuters showed.

Another vessel, Panamax-sized tanker Pacific Martina, chartered by Shell, arrived at Vadinar on July 18 to load jet fuel, LSEG and Kpler data showed.

After loading jet fuel from Nayara, the partially loaded Pacific Martina has been anchored off the port next to Talara, LSEG data showed on Tuesday.

PetroChina has also provisionally chartered medium-ranged tanker Chang Hang Xing Yun to load 35,000 tons of gasoil on July 29-31 from Vadinar port with the option to discharge the cargo at Singapore or Chittagong, Bangladesh, shipping fixtures from shipbrokers showed.

Shell and PetroChina did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

(Reporting by Trixie Yap in Singapore and Nidhi Verma in New Delhi; Writing by Florence Tan and Tony Munroe; Editing by Jacqueline Wong, Kate Mayberry and Sharon Singleton)