Ship carrying Iranian oil shifts course midway from India to China

NEW DELHI: (Apr 3) A US-sanctioned tanker carrying Iranian crude oil has rerouted mid-voyage from its previously indicated destination of India - where it would have marked the first such shipment in nearly seven years - to China.

The Aframax tanker Ping Shun, built in 2002 and sanctioned by the US in 2025, is now signalling Dongying in China as its destination instead of Vadinar in Gujarat, which it had indicated earlier this week, according to ship-tracking firm Kpler.

There is no confirmation that the destination that the ship's Automatic Identification System (AIS) transponder - a tracking system mandated on most commercial vessels - is indicating is the final and it may not change at any time during the transit.