Russian crude freight to India holds at record as Moscow extends its diesel export ban
An Aframax from the Baltic to western India costs about $23m a voyage, while Russia plans 2.15m tonnes of diesel exports in November
Freight for Russian crude from the country's western ports to India stayed at record levels in late October. Shipping Urals to India now costs about $30 a barrel or more depending on owner and destination, against about $20 in September. An Aframax carrying about 100,000 tonnes from Russia's Baltic ports to western India costs around $23m for the one-way voyage, compared with $13m to $16m in September, and a Suezmax can be fixed on the same route for about $27m.
From the Black Sea, where loadings have been largely disrupted since the summer by drone attacks, a Suezmax of about 140,000 tonnes to India now costs a record $30m, up from about $19m in September. Shipbroker Riverlake put a 140,000-tonne crude cargo from the Black Sea to the Mediterranean at Worldscale 952 in October, only slightly below about WS1,000 earlier in the month. Owners are refusing sellers' requests for discounts, and winter weather is expected to tighten the market further.
Why are Aframax earnings at a record?
BRS Shipbrokers reported on 26 October that the Baltic Exchange's basket of Aframax time-charter earnings had reached a record $385,000 a day, and the Middle East Gulf–Japan LR2 route a record $320,000 a day. Second-hand Aframaxes aged five, ten, 15 and 20 years rose by 27%, 37%, 36% and 34% month on month in September. Cargoes of about 2m barrels, particularly in the Atlantic, are being split into 700,000-barrel Aframax parcels, which is drawing LR2s into dirty trades: 13 of the 22 LR2s on maiden voyages are carrying crude, and 820 of the 1,229 Aframax and LR2 tankers, or 67%, are trading dirty. Dirty Aframax and LR2 tonne-miles are up 22% this year.
What happens to Russian diesel?
Russia has extended its general ban on diesel exports by producers until the end of January, while preparing exemptions that let some suppliers ship to world markets. Deputy prime minister Alexander Novak said Russia plans to export about 2.15m tonnes of diesel in November after about 510,000 tonnes in October, and that four tankers had left Baltic ports with Russian diesel by late October.
Two of them loaded about 40,000 tonnes each at Primorsk. The UK- and EU-sanctioned Leruo was expected in New York around 7 November. Agioi Fanendes, whose owner has been warned by Senator Richard Blumenthal that discharging in New York would be illegal, passed through the Skagerrak on 26 October declaring "For Orders" after earlier showing New York. The diesel cargoes were covered here on 30 October.
This story is part of the Maritime Briefing of 3 November 2026.
