An oil tanker loaded with Russian crude has been idling off the coast of Ghana for more than two weeks after arriving, according to Bloomberg.

The tanker christened Theseus arrived in Ghana’s territorial waters on February 24, 2023, and was supposed to be discharged into storage tanks at the Tema oil refinery (TOR). 

Russia’s pool of buyers shrank dramatically in December after the European Union banned imports from the country, forcing traders to find new markets of Russian barrels. 

This is the first Russian shipment to the West African country in at least four years, according to Bloomberg data.  

The tanker loaded about 600,000 barrels of crude from Russia’s Black Sea port of Novorossiysk in late January, according to tanker tracking data compiled by Bloomberg. 

The cargo on board originated from Russia, according to data from Vortexa and a port agent report seen by Bloomberg.

The tanker loaded about 600,000 barrels of crude from Russia’s Black Sea port of Novorossiysk in late January, according to tanker-tracking data compiled by Bloomberg. 

Clearance was given for the tanker after claims that the cargo was from Kazakhstan, one of the people said. But data from Vortexa and Kpler and a port agent report for Novorossiysk showed it originated from Russia.

Separately, a product tanker SCF Yenisei with Russian diesel also arrived at Tema a week ago after loading about 40,000 tons from Russia’s Baltic port of Primorsk in early February, according to a port agent report and ship-tracking data compiled by Bloomberg. It has yet to discharge.