According to ship-tracking firm Kpler, the ship is now signaling Dongying in China instead of Vadinar.There is no confirmation that the destination shown on the ship’s Automatic Identification System (AIS) transponder is final, and it may still change during transit.“An Iranian crude ship ‘Ping Shun’, which was en route to Vadinar, India in the last three days, has dropped India as its declared destination near arrival and is now indicating China,” said Sumit Ritolia, lead research analyst, refining and modeling at commodity market analytical firm Kpler.According to Retolia, the redirection appears to be linked to a tightening of payment terms.“The change in the destination of Ping Shun appears to be related to payments, with sellers tightening terms, moving from the earlier 30-60 day credit window to upfront or near-term settlements.”It was not clear who were the actual sellers and buyers of crude oil.The development comes at a time when Indian refiners are exploring opportunities to buy some cargoes of Iranian oil at sea after the US waived sanctions on such purchases for 30 days last month.That waiver window ends April 19.While the waivers allow countries to already buy Iranian oil by sea, the main challenge remains payment.Iran remains out of SWIFT (Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication), the global banking messaging system used by financial institutions to securely send and receive transaction information.Earlier purchases from Iran were made in euros through Turkish banks, but now that option no longer exists.Iran was cut off from the SWIFT system in March 2012 following EU sanctions over its nuclear programme. Further disruption came after the US reimposed sanctions in 2018, sharply restricting Tehran’s ability to receive oil payments, conduct international trade and access foreign exchange reserves.The Ping Shun is estimated to be carrying about 600,000 barrels of crude oil, which was loaded off Kharg Island around March 4. According to Kepler, its announced ETA for Vadinar was April 4.Vadinar is home to Rosneft-backed Nayara Energy’s 20 million tonne per annum refinery.If delivered, the cargo would have been the first Iranian crude shipment to India since 2019.India was once a major buyer of Iranian oil, importing significant quantities of Iran’s light and Iran’s heavy grades due to strong refinery offtake and favorable commercial terms.But after sanctions were tightened in 2018, imports stopped from May 2019, replaced by crude from the Middle East, the US and other sources.At its peak, Iranian crude oil accounted for 11.5 percent of India’s total oil imports.India imported about 518,000 barrels per day of Iranian oil in 2018. It fell to 268,000 barrels a day between January and May 2019, when the US granted waivers to some buyers. There has been no import since then.India’s oil ministry has so far maintained that any decision on resuming purchases of Iranian crude will depend on techno-commercial feasibility.According to estimates, about 95 million barrels of Iranian oil is currently on ships at sea. Of this, about 51 million barrels can be sold to India, while the rest is considered more suitable for buyers in China and Southeast Asia.Ritolia said the latest redirection shows how financial terms are becoming central to the movement of Iranian crude.“While such mid-journey destination changes are not unprecedented with Iranian crude, they highlight the increased sensitivity of trade flows to financial conditions and counterparty risk,” he said.“If payment issues are resolved, cargo could still make its way to an Indian refinery. However, the episode underlines that commercial terms are becoming as important as logistics in determining the flow of Iranian crude to countries other than China.”