Freight rates for transporting Russian crude oil from the country’s western ports to India remained at record highs in late October, as disruptions in the Black Sea and limited tanker availability continued to drive up shipping costs, according to trading and shipping sources.
The rising freight costs are putting increasing pressure on Russian oil exporters, who have been forced by Western sanctions to divert much of their crude exports from western Russian ports to Asian markets, particularly India and China, through longer and more expensive shipping routes.
The cost of transporting Urals crude to India has climbed to around US$30 per barrel or higher, depending on the shipowner and destination, compared with approximately US$20 per barrel in September.
For an Aframax tanker carrying around 100,000 tonnes of crude from Russia’s Baltic ports to western India, freight costs have remained at approximately US$23 million for a one-way voyage, against US$13 million–US$16 million in September. A Suezmax tanker on the same route commands around US$27 million.
Freight rates on the Black Sea–India route have also surged. Shipping Urals crude on a Suezmax tanker with a capacity of approximately 140,000 tonnes now costs around US$30 million per one-way voyage, compared with roughly US$19 million in September.
Black Sea oil exports have faced significant disruptions since the summer, with repeated drone attacks and heightened regional security tensions causing prolonged delays in cargo movements and vessel operations.
According to shipbroker Riverlake, the cost of transporting a 140,000-tonne crude cargo from the Black Sea to the Mediterranean remained at Worldscale (WS) 952 points in October, only slightly below the approximately WS1,000 recorded earlier this month.
The tight freight market is also limiting the negotiating power of oil sellers. While exporters are seeking lower transportation rates, shipowners remain reluctant to offer discounts amid strong demand and constrained vessel availability.
The approaching winter season is expected to add further pressure, as adverse weather conditions could complicate tanker movements, increase voyage delays and further tighten available shipping capacity.
With freight costs consuming an increasingly larger share of export revenues, the surge is highlighting the growing logistical and financial challenges facing Russian crude suppliers serving the Indian and wider Asian markets.