Indian oil shipping company with mysterious origins became one of the largest tanker owners in the world, likely due to its ties with the Russian state oil company Rosneft, according to the article from the Financial Times.
Gatik Ship Management, an Indian oil shipping company, went from owning two chemical tankers in 2021 to acquiring 58 vessels with an estimated value of $1.6 billion in April.
According to the experts cited in the article, the purchase made Gatik one of the only 20 companies to own 50 or more tankers.
“Gatik’s newly acquired fleet has been used largely to transport oil from Russia, mainly to ports in India, tanker tracking data shows,” the Financial Times wrote.
Since the full-scale invasion, Russian supplies went from comprising 1 percent of India’s crude to about 30 percent in 2023.
The reporters were unable to verify the origins or ownership of the company due to limited public information available in official registries, providing evidence of close cooperation with Rosneft.
The news comes as demand from India and China rise the prices for Russian oil. April prices for Urals crude rose to nearly $55 per barrel, nearing the $60 price cap imposed by the U.S. and its allies, causing uncertainty about future trade decisions.
The Kyiv Independent news desk
