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TEHRAN – Two sanctioned supertankers laden with Iranian crude have dropped anchor off Indian ports, marking what could be the first such cargoes to arrive in the country in nearly seven years, just as the US escalates efforts to curb Tehran’s exports.

India hasn’t received Iranian oil since 2019, because of US sanctions.

A waiver in March, however, allowed purchases of crude already on the water, a bid to ease the impact of the war in the Middle East on global supply.

The world’s third-largest crude importer has since said it would buy cargoes from Iran, among other countries, to navigate the energy crisis. 

It is unclear how US President Donald Trump’s plan to blockade vessels coming through the Strait of Hormuz – an effort to choke off Iranian shipments after peace talks broke down – will impact the waiver or existing purchases.

The Felicity has dropped anchor off Sikka in western India late on April 12, ship-tracking data show.

A very-large crude carrier that’s owned by the National Iranian Tanker Company, according to database Equasis, it is laden with 2 million barrels of Iranian crude that it lifted from the oil-export hub of Kharg Island in mid-March. 

The Jaya began signaling on April 12 that it is moored near Paradip on India’s east coast.

The ship had picked up 2 million barrels of crude from Kharg Island in late February before the US and Israel began attacking Iran.