The Indian government on Saturday (April 4, 2026) termed as false the reports which claimed that a tanker loaded with Iranian crude oil, which was earlier scheduled to come to India, is now changing its course midway and heading towards China due to ‘payment related problems’. The Petroleum Ministry said that India has not faced any payment related problem in securing the import of crude oil. India imports crude oil from more than 40 countries. Companies have complete freedom to buy oil from different places.
Why did the Iranian ship turn towards China?
A statement from the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas said that the reports ignored how the oil trade works. The ministry said, the names of possible ports for unloading goods from the ship are often written in the bill of landing. Cargo ships running at sea can change their destination on the basis of operational freedom to improve business.
Government termed media reports as false
The ministry said, ‘Despite Middle East supply problems, India has met its crude oil needs including from Iran. Many reports mentioning payment related problems are false. India’s crude oil requirement for the coming months is completely secure. On the rumor spread regarding LPG supply, the government said, ‘The LPG ship named Sea Bird has reached Mangaluru Port on April 2 with about 44 thousand metric tons of Iranian gas and at present unloading is going on.’
Iranian ship was about to reach Gujarat?
Ship tracking company ‘Coupler’ claimed that the Aframax tanker named ‘Ping Shun’ is now moving towards Dongying, China as its destination instead of Vadinar in Gujarat. Recently, after the temporary relaxation of sanctions given by America, Indian refiners are exploring the possibility of purchasing some consignments of Iranian oil present in the sea. Sumit Ritolia, chief analyst of Coupler’s refining and modeling department, had claimed that the reason for the change in the destination of the ship could be the terms related to payment. A refinery with a capacity of 20 million tonnes per annum of Nayara Energy, backed by Russian oil company Rosneft, is located in Vadinar.
India has been a big buyer of Iranian crude oil
Ritolia said it is not unusual for Iranian crude to change destinations during its journey, but it shows that trade terms and financial risks have now become as important as logistics. India’s Oil Ministry has already said that the decision to resume purchasing Iranian oil will depend on technical and commercial feasibility. India has historically been a big buyer of Iranian crude oil.
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