The cost of shipping Russian Urals crude by sea from western Russian ports to India has risen by about 50% compared with mid-July, Reuters reported, citing traders.
The traders said the increase reflects a broader rise in shipping costs as well as a shortage of vessels willing to call at Russian ports because of growing risks from drone attacks.
Despite this, Russia expects to increase oil exports from its western ports in August because of steady demand from Asian buyers, the Reuters sources said. They added that a shortage of available vessels could limit how far those plans can be carried out.
Drone attacks disrupt Black Sea shipments
Reuters reported that a series of drone attacks on tankers in the Black Sea in July temporarily halted oil shipments from the port of Novorossiysk and from the Caspian Pipeline Consortium terminal. The heightened risk led many shipowners to avoid the Black Sea region, making it harder to find vessels and causing delivery delays.
Freight rates roughly double
Market participants estimated that shipping a cargo of about 100,000 tonnes of oil on an Aframax tanker from Primorsk to India now costs around $13 million, up from $8 million to $9 million in mid-July.
Traders said shipping a roughly 140,000-tonne cargo from Novorossiysk to India on a Suezmax tanker has risen to about $15 million from $10 million two weeks earlier.
