Russia Ships Arctic Oil to Syria for First Time

MOSCOW, March 21 (Reuters) – Two tankers hit by U.S. sanctions are due to offload Russian Arctic Oil in Syria for the first time, days after Moscow made its first known delivery of diesel there in more than a decade, according to LSEG data, a government source and local TV.

One of the tankers, Aquatica, with some 100,000 tons of Russian oil onboard, is set to offload in Baniyas port soon, according to a government source and pro-government Syria TV. 

The vessel arrived on Thursday, but has yet to offload, according to the TV report and the government source.

The second tanker, Sakina, is still on its way to Baniyas with another 100,000 tons of oil, LSEG data showed, and was set to arrive on March 25.

Both vessels are subject to the U.S. sanctions imposed on January 10, as is the Umba storage tanker near the northern port of Murmansk where both vessels loaded the volumes in February, according to shipping data seen by sources.

Russia has to look for alternative buyers of its Arctic oil since the U.S. sanctions in January hit producer Gazprom neft and the tankers shipping the crude.

Syria is struggling to find a replacement for Iranian oil for its refineries, as it struggles with its own oil output. Syria’s Baniyas refinery, the largest in the country, halted operations in December 2024 amid shortages following the suspension of Iranian supplies.

Russia’s Gazprom neft and Syrian oil ministry official did not respond to requests for comment.

Russia shipped a diesel cargo to Syria onboard a tanker under U.S. sanctions early in March.

(Reporting by Reuters in MOSCOW, Timour Azhari in BEIRUT, and Joelle Kozaily; Editing by Andrew Heavens)

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