India Clears Four Foreign Flagged Ships To Ease Nayara Fuel Supply Amid EU Sanctions, Dollar Trade Blockade

India has authorised EU-sanctioned Nayara Energy to deploy four foreign-flagged vessels for transporting petrol and diesel along the coast, easing a supply crunch ahead of the festive season, The Hindu reported.

However, the company’s overseas trade remains paralysed because banks are unwilling to clear dollar payments.

Officials said the Directorate General of Shipping approved the ships for moving fuel from Nayara’s 20-million-tonne-a-year Vadinar refinery in Gujarat to markets across Maharashtra, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Odisha and Tamil Nadu.

Two vessels are already operating, with two more expected shortly.

Domestic fuel flows were hit after the European Union sanctioned Nayara in July, prompting shipowners to halt voyages from Vadinar over fears of secondary sanctions and loss of insurance from Europe-based P&I clubs.

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The refinery, which supplies about 8 per cent of India’s fuel, lacks pipeline links and relies on coastal shipping.

Exports, which account for roughly a quarter of Nayara’s output, also stopped as banks declined to process dollar transactions.

Payments for local sales continue in rupees, but efforts to arrange dollar clearing through UCO Bank stalled after its partner, Mashreq Bank in the UAE refused to handle Nayara deals.

Since August, the company has sourced crude only from Russia using ships organised by Russian suppliers, unable to buy from Iraq or Saudi Arabia.

The sanctions, part of the EU’s 18th package targeting Russian oil revenues, have forced Nayara to cut refinery runs and led several European executives, including its CEO, to quit.

Rosneft, which owns 49.13 per cent of Nayara, and the company itself have criticised the measures as unjust and harmful to India’s energy security.

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