In China, newly sanctioned tankers face delays offloading oil despite meeting waiver requirements. Three of them discharged Russian ESPO and Sokol crude during Jan. 15-17 while tanker Olia offloaded at Shandong's Yantai port on Sunday after carrying its ESPO cargo for nearly three weeks, according to LSEG data.

Trade for March-loading Russian oil in China and India has stalled due to soaring shipping costs triggered by U.S. sanctions introduced on Jan. 10, Reuters reported on Jan. 28. The sanctions target nearly 200 vessels in Russia's "shadow fleet,

The cost of shipping Russian ESPO crude oil to China has spiked further, rising nearly fivefold compared to pre-sanction levels imposed by the United States. Source: Bloomberg Details: The fee to ship oil from Russia’s Pacific port of Kozmino to China reached US$7 million this week,

The cost to hire an oil supertanker on key routes to China has doubled since the US imposed sanctions on Russia, showing the extent to which the move has upended the global shipping market.

China and India have suspended March purchases of Russian oil as U.S. sanctions drive up shipping costs, Reuters reported Tuesday, citing traders and shipping data. The U.S. Treasury Department earlier this month targeted 183 vessels,

In China, there is a lack of interest in March deliveries of oil from Russia following the imposition of new American sanctions on the Russian "shadow fleet", which have led to increased tanker transport costs not covered by these sanctions,