Latest news with #Sovcomflot
Nikkei Asia
a day ago
- Business
- Nikkei Asia
Trump says no imminent plans to penalize China for buying Russian oil
A vessel owned by Russia's leading tanker group, Sovcomflot, transits through Turkey in April 2024. China and India are the top two buyers of Russian oil. © Reuters August 16, 2025 13:37 JST WASHINGTON (Reuters) -- U.S. President Donald Trump said on Friday he did not immediately need to consider retaliatory tariffs on countries such as China for buying Russian oil but might have to "in two or three weeks." Trump has threatened sanctions on Moscow and secondary sanctions on countries that buy its oil if no moves are made to end the war in Ukraine. China and India are the top two buyers of Russian oil. The president last week imposed an additional 25% tariff on Indian goods, citing its continued imports of Russian oil. However, Trump has not taken similar action against China. He was asked by Fox News' Sean Hannity if he was now considering such action against Beijing after he and Russian President Vladimir Putin failed to produce an agreement to resolve or pause Moscow's war in Ukraine. "Well, because of what happened today, I think I don't have to think about that," Trump said after his summit with Putin in Alaska. "Now, I may have to think about it in two weeks or three weeks or something, but we don't have to think about that right now. I think, you know, the meeting went very well." Chinese President Xi Jinping's slowing economy will suffer if Trump follows through on a promise to ramp up Russia-related sanctions and tariffs. Xi and Trump are working on a trade deal that could lower tensions -- and import taxes -- between the world's two biggest economies. But China could be the biggest remaining target, outside of Russia, if Trump ramps up punitive measures.
Egypt Independent
06-08-2025
- Business
- Egypt Independent
Trump wants India to stop buying Russian oil. Why is Modi saying no?
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi has been performing a tricky balancing act – maintaining close partnerships with US President Donald Trump and Russia's leader Vladimir Putin while insisting his country is a neutral party in the Russia-Ukraine war, to the dismay of Western nations who have sanctioned Moscow. But now, it seems, Trump has lost his patience – demanding that Modi finally pick a side, and using India's continued purchases of cheap Russian oil as leverage in his trade war. The conundrum pits Trump and Modi, two nationalist leaders who have often described their friendship in warm terms, increasingly against each other. On Monday, Trump vowed in an interview with CNBC to 'substantially' raise tariffs on India 'over the next 24 hours' because it's still buying Russian oil. It's not clear what the new tariff rate would be – or why he is now taking issue with something India has done for years. But the fresh threat comes after he had already announced a minimum 25 percent tariff on goods coming from India last week. A crude oil tanker owned by Russia's leading tanker group Sovcomflot, transiting through the Bosphorus in Istanbul, Turkey on April 4, 2024. Yoruk Isik/Reuters 'Also, they have always bought a vast majority of their military equipment from Russia, and are Russia's largest buyer of ENERGY, along with China, at a time when everyone wants Russia to STOP THE KILLING IN UKRAINE — ALL THINGS NOT GOOD!' Trump wrote on Truth Social last week. But for Modi, it's not so simple. While many other countries have scrambled to strike trade deals with the Trump administration, India – the world's fourth largest economy – has pushed back defiantly, saying it is being unfairly targeted and calling the measure 'unjustified.' The US and Europe, it pointed out, still trade with Russia on other products such as fertilizers and chemicals. Here's what you need to know about why India is reluctant to stop buying Russian oil. Why does India need Russian oil? India has long been reliant on Russia for crude oil to support its booming economy and growing population, now at more than 1.4 billion people. The world's most populous nation is already the third biggest consumer of oil globally, and with India's consumption rate still growing rapidly, it is expected to surpass China by 2030, according to Reuters. India's transformation into an economic superpower has uplifted millions of households – which in turn have bought more cars and motorcycles, driving up the demand for gasoline. Russian crude oil accounts for 36 percent of India's overall imports, making Moscow the country's top supplier, according to Muyu Xu, a senior oil analyst at trade intelligence firm Kpler, who cited figures for the first six months of this year. Why can't India get oil somewhere else? After Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022, European nations largely stopped buying Russian oil. It now flows primarily into Asia – with China, India and Turkey among Russia's big clients and is a vital revenue stream for Moscow. Delhi is buying Russian oil at a heavy discount, 'which otherwise would not have been given by the traditional oil and gas suppliers,' said Amitabh Singh, associate professor at Jawaharlal Nehru University's (JNU) Centre for Russian and Central Asian Studies. He added that India's continuing purchases were 'a purely economic or commercial decision' – something Indian authorities have also argued, but which has been met with derision and anger from Ukraine and its supporters. While India has diversified its oil sources over the years, cutting out Russian oil entirely would leave a gaping hole that's hard to replace. India imports 80 percent of its oil needs, and its domestic oil production isn't enough to make up the difference. OPEC, the coalition of the world's top oil producers, may have 'some spare capacity, but it's difficult to ask them to pump 3.4 million barrels overnight,' said Xu when she spoke to CNN in July, referring to Russia's daily seaborne exports. Its choices have also been limited by other US actions – India was forced to stop buying oil from Iran and Venezuela after Trump imposed sanctions and threatened tariffs against countries that bought from those places. Before it halted its purchases, India had been one of Iran's biggest clients, buying up to 480,000 barrels per day, according to Reuters. 'We have our hands tied at the back,' said Singh. 'There is very limited space in which the Indian oil economy or market can operate.' For now, he added, it's unlikely Delhi will bow to Trump's demands. Modi's administration will continue navigating trade talks with the US and explore the 'traditional route' of Middle Eastern oil while it works to wean itself off Russian crude – but this it 'cannot do overnight,' said Singh. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Aylesbury, England, on July 24, 2025. Kin Cheung/Changes could spike global oil prices, including in US Russia's oil also feeds India's economy, which plays a key role in the global oil trade. India argues that its purchases from Russia have kept global oil prices lower, as it's not competing with Western nations for Middle Eastern oil. When the Ukraine-Russia war kicked off during the Biden administration, 'everyone knew that India is buying oil from Russia,' said Singh – but added that Western nations had tolerated it 'because they knew that if India is not buying oil from Russia, then inflation will go up.' If India switches to importing oil from somewhere else at a higher cost, American consumers will likely feel the hit, too. Some of the Russian crude oil sent to India is then refined and exported back out to other countries – because sanctions on Moscow don't include products refined outside Russia. It's a loophole that has benefited both India's economy and other recipient nations. In 2023, India exported $86.28 billion in refined oil products, making it the world's second-biggest exporter of petroleum products, according to the National Bureau of Asian Research (NBR). Some of the biggest buyers of these refined products, made from Russian crude oil, include Europe, the US, and the UK, according to the Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air (CREA). The independent organization has urged G7 nations to close this loophole, arguing it would disincentivize third countries – like India – to import Russian crude. Historic partnership and juggling ties India and Russia's partnership goes beyond just oil and stretches back decades – another reason it's not so easy to dismantle. India was officially nonaligned during the Cold War between the US and the USSR. However, India began to lean towards the Soviet Union in the 1970s when the US began providing military and financial assistance to India's neighbor and longtime rival Pakistan. This was when Russia started providing arms to India. In recent years, India has drawn closer to Washington, and ramped up arms purchases from America and its allies, including France and Israel. Still, India remains the top recipient of Russian arms, according to SIPRI. And Modi remains friendly with Putin – even paying a controversial visit to Moscow last year, with the Russian president greeting his counterpart with a hug and personally driving him around. Trump and Modi, too, have previously hailed their friendship, with Trump declaring at a 2019 rally that India had 'never had a better friend as President than President Donald Trump.' Singh, the professor, said it was expected the friendship 'would continue' when Trump arrived at the White House for his second term. But things have soured this time around; India isn't happy with Trump claiming credit for a ceasefire in the latest India-Pakistan conflict, or with his accusations that their oil purchases are helping 'prop up a Russian war machine,' he said. Trump has lashed out too, increasingly frustrated at his inability to end the Ukraine-Russia war – something he'd promised to do on his first day in office. 'I don't care what India does with Russia,' Trump wrote in an irate post on Truth Social last week. 'They can take their dead economies down together, for all I care.'
Al Arabiya
25-06-2025
- Business
- Al Arabiya
First Russian-built ice-class LNG tanker to launch this year
The first Russian-built ice-class tanker for liquefied natural gas is expected to go into operation in the second half of this year at the Arctic LNG 2 plant, Interfax news agency quoted tanker group Sovcomflot as saying on Wednesday. International sanctions over Ukraine have led to a shortage of tankers in Russia that can cut through thick ice, preventing Arctic LNG 2 from exporting cargo since the first stage of the plant started operation at the end of 2023. The tanker, named Alexey Kosygin after a Soviet statesman, was built at the Zvezda shipyard and is due to join the fleet of vessels for the Arctic LNG 2 plant. The tanker, already under US sanctions, started sea trials at the end of last year and the final trial stage is due to begin at the end of this month. 'If all test parameters are achieved, there is a good chance that the vessel will be put into operation in the second half of this year,' Sovcomflot's CEO Igor Tonkovidov told Interfax. Russian energy company Novatek, which owns 60 percent of Arctic LNG 2, has said 15 Arc7 ice-class tankers that are able to cut through two-metre (6.5 ft) thick ice to transport LNG from Arctic projects, will be built at the Zvezda shipyard. In total, Novatek has contracted 21 such tankers.
Reuters
25-06-2025
- Business
- Reuters
First Russian-built ice-class LNG tanker to launch this year, Ifx reports
MOSCOW, June 25 (Reuters) - The first Russian-built ice-class tanker for liquefied natural gas is expected to go into operation in the second half of this year at the Arctic LNG 2 plant, Interfax news agency quoted tanker group Sovcomflot ( opens new tab as saying on Wednesday. International sanctions over Ukraine have led to a shortage of tankers in Russia that can cut through thick ice, preventing Arctic LNG 2 from exporting cargo since the first stage of the plant started operation at the end of 2023. The tanker, named Alexey Kosygin after a Soviet statesman, was built at the Zvezda shipyard and is due to join the fleet of vessels for the Arctic LNG 2 plant. The tanker, already under U.S. sanctions, started sea trials at the end of last year and the final trial stage is due to begin at the end of this month. "If all test parameters are achieved, there is a good chance that the vessel will be put into operation in the second half of this year," Sovcomflot's CEO Igor Tonkovidov told Interfax. Russian energy company Novatek ( opens new tab, which owns 60% of Arctic LNG 2, has said 15 Arc7 ice-class tankers that are able to cut through two-metre (6.5 ft) thick ice to transport LNG from Arctic projects, will be built at the Zvezda shipyard. In total, Novatek has contracted 21 such tankers.
Yahoo
23-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Russia's sanctioned tanker group Sovcomflot plunges to $393 million loss
(Reuters) -Russia's leading tanker group Sovcomflot plunged to a net loss of $393 million in the first quarter, blaming the slump on new Western sanctions that have led to operational problems, lower revenues and some sanctioned vessels sitting idle. The United States and the European Union imposed sanctions on Sovcomflot and its fleet in 2024 to try and reduce Russia's revenue from oil sales that it can use to finance its war in Ukraine. In January, the United States added new Sovcomflot vessels to the list of sanctioned assets and withdrew a U.S. licence, granted last year, that had allowed some vessels in its fleet to operate despite sanctions. Sovcomflot, which reported a 49% year-on-year drop in first-quarter revenue to $278.5 million, said the January sanctions had been particularly impactful, creating additional commercial and operational difficulties. "The intensification of Western sanctions has made it more difficult to operate the fleet and led to lower revenues and downtime for some sanctioned vessels," Sovcomflot said in a statement. "In the reporting period, unprecedented sanctions restrictions were imposed on the company and its vessels, which created additional commercial and operational difficulties in operating the fleet," Sovcomflot said. The group's earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) fell almost 69% year-on-year to $105 million. Sovcomflot considers the sanctions to be illegal.
