Tankers With Russian Oil Flock to East Asia in Race for Buyers

More than a dozen tankers loaded with Russian Urals oil are sailing toward Asia or idling along the route, a sign of producers racing to get cargoes closer to China as India pulls back from the trade.

These vessels — carrying a combined 10 million to 12 million barrels of oil — are spread across the Indian Ocean, and off the coasts of Malaysia, China and Russia. Five of them are indicating ‘for orders’ or ‘China for orders’ as their status, according to data intelligence firm Kpler, a category that usually means they don’t yet have a specific buyer or discharge port.