Related: How China\u2019s Rare Earth Ban Backfired into a U.S. Tech Breakthrough<\/a><\/p>\n China faces a challenge of its own. In February 2026, its seaborne imports<\/a> of Russian crude reached a new record of 1.92 million b\/d. Yet the Iranian crisis affects Chinese refiners on two fronts. Unlike India, China was also a major buyer of Iranian crude, importing roughly 1 million b\/d in February. Combined imports from Kuwait, Iraq, the UAE and Saudi Arabia totalled about 3.4 million b\/d in the same month. Taken together, the potential loss of Iranian supply and disruption to Gulf shipments threatens more than 1\/3 of China\u2019s crude imports. In this context, Russian barrels appear both politically and logistically attractive. Overland pipeline flows and shipments from Russia\u2019s Far Eastern ports offer one of the few large-scale supply channels that bypass the Gulf entirely.<\/p>\n Recent tanker movements underline how the market is already adjusting. A wave of U.S. enforcement actions against Venezuelan oil exports has left a number of numerous VLCCs idle in Asian waters. Many of these vessels had previously been used to collect Venezuelan crude through ship-to-ship (STS) transfers. With those flows disrupted, several of the VLCCs became redundant. Russia appears to have quickly stepped into that logistical vacuum. Although Russian exporters rarely relied on VLCCs in the past, at least 8 such vessels are currently positioned in the Arabian Sea and near Singapore, either en route to China or waiting offshore. There\u2019s 12 million barrels of medium sour Urals alone that are carried by VLCCs, not counting Russia\u2019s Far Eastern grades, surpassing the previous record carry of 9.8 million barrels from February 2023. Most of the cargoes they carry are already committed to Chinese buyers, offering little hope for India\u2019s supply concerns.<\/p>\n How much of the spare Russian oil is available now? Floating storage suggests that Russia\u2019s spare export capacity may be limited. Inventories of Russian crude at sea climbed steadily through late January 2026, reaching about 19.6 million barrels. Since then, they have declining continuously. By early March, only 12 vessels remain in floating storage, holding roughly 7 million barrels in total, and several of those tankers are already anchored near Chinese ports awaiting a signal to offload. In other words, the pool of unsold Russian crude available on short notice has shrunk significantly.<\/p>\n Related: No Missiles, No Drones: What Happens When Rare Earths Stop Flowing?<\/a><\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/1772730378-o_1jivfdohi1iha1tdo164am971ije8.jpg\"\/ "\\"\\"")
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