Indian companies have staged an unprecedented raid on the spot market. In less than a week, they bought up all available volumes of Russian oil sitting on tankers awaiting buyers. According to Bloomberg, total purchases reached approximately 30 million barrels. This is equivalent to an entire month’s worth of imports from the Russian Federation based on February averages (1.1 million barrels per day).
Floating Storage Finally Heads to Port
The rapid buy-up was made possible because dozens of vessels carrying Russian crude had been drifting in the Asian region for months, serving as floating storage due to sanctions pressure. As soon as the Donald Trump administration issued a temporary waiver for purchases, Indian refineries immediately contracted these volumes. This allowed Moscow to swiftly offload overstocked tankers that had previously struggled to find ports of entry.
Temporary Success Amid Strategic Deadlock
For European analysts, this spike in activity is a classic illustration of market opportunism. India is cynically using the “Trump Window” to replenish reserves with discounted crude while sanctions are briefly paused. However, this success for the Russian Federation remains localized: once the 30-day waiver expires and the Indian banking sector (including the giant SBI) continues to block transactions, exports risk reverting to unpaid “floating warehouses” once again.