{
  "id": 14695644,
  "title": "Ship-to-Ship Oil Transfers Surge Off India’s West Coast",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/15/ship-to-ship-oil-transfers-surge-off-indias-west-coast",
  "topic": "finance",
  "section": "Finance & Markets",
  "published": "2026-10-15T12:30:00.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "OilPrice",
    "slug": "oilprice",
    "url": "https://oilprice.com/Latest-Energy-News/World-News/Ship-to-Ship-Oil-Transfers-Surge-Off-Indias-West-Coast.html"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "Off India's West Coast, ship-to-ship oil transfers have surged due to overcrowded waters near the Strait of Hormuz. According to Vortexa's vessel-tracking data, 82 cargoes, totaling approximately 680,000 barrels per day, were transferred in September alone. The Gulf of Kutch, which opens towards the Arabian Sea, has become an additional point of transfer for Gulf oil producers seeking to maintain supplies to Asian markets despite increased risks for tanker journeys in Hormuz. Senior market analyst Varaleka Pant from Vortexa explained that the congestion at STS zones near Fujairah in the UAE and Sohar in Oman is forcing the activity to spill over to India's West Coast. This surge in transfers indicates the operational limits of shuttle-shipping methods used by Gulf producers to export oil via Hormuz. While analysts vary in their assessment of the scale of eastward STS transfers, all agree that congestion in Oman and UAE zones is prompting producers and buyers to seek alternative transfer points along the route to Asia. Iraq, for example, is offering a discount on Basrah Medium and Basrah Heavy grades due to the high risks associated with moving barrels out of Hormuz, while UAE receives a premium for its Murban crude, moving through a pipeline to Fujairah outside the Strait of Hormuz.",
  "summary": "The waters outside the Strait of Hormuz have been so overcrowded with ship-to-ship transfers to keep oil flowing out of the Persian Gulf that the STS operations are expanding into India’s West Coast. A total of 82 cargoes, or about 680,000 barrels per day (bpd), were transferred onto larger ships in the Indian Gulf of Kutch in September, according to vessel-tracking data by Vortexa cited by The…",
  "key_points": [
    "Ship-to-ship oil transfers surge off India's West Coast",
    "82 cargoes totaling 680,000 barrels transferred in September",
    "Congestion prompts alternative transfer points along Asia route"
  ],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}