Tankers that once transported oil from Russia's western ports are now being redirected to the eastern part of the country to support the key oil supply route to China, which has been impacted by extensive US sanctions.

On Jan. 10 the US Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control sanctioned 161 tankers and traders involved in about 2,000 shipments since the invasion began. It also acted against Moscow-based ship insurers and two companies — Surgutneftgas and Gazpromneft — which in the first 10 months of last year accounted for almost 30% of Russia’s oil exports.

Three tankers with more than 2 million barrels of russian oil are floating in waters off eastern China and cannot be unloaded after the U.S. imposed new

"This time it's different" is a well-worn cliché that seems to be getting another whirl with the latest U.S. sanctions against Russia's crude oil exports.

A tanker carrying Russian crude discharged at a port operated by Shandong Port Group in east China on Thursday.

Crude oil purchases by Indian Oil Corp. may shift as the new US sanctions on Russia affect supplies from Moscow, pushing the South Asian country’s biggest refiner to seek alternatives.

Middlemen supplying Russian oil are not offering cargoes due to new U.S. sanctions targeting Russian producers, tankers and insurers, according to the finance chief at Indian refiner Bharat Petroleum.

Oil refiners in India are reaching for all available options in the rush to make up for Russian flows hit by Washington’s latest round of sanctions, turning to the spot market while simultaneously seeking more long-term supplies from Middle Eastern producers.