The crude oil market is adapting quickly to the new sanctions against Russia's shadow fleet of tankers, albeit by creating both short- and medium-term winners and losers.

Russian officials say rescue workers have successfully removed almost 1,500 tons of oil stranded onboard a tanker that ran aground in December, sparking a devastating oil spill that has damaged miles of coastline along the Black Sea.

The rush to buy replacement cargoes for sanctioned Russian oil has pushed Middle Eastern crude prices to an unusual premium to the global benchmark.

Indian Oil Corp, the country's top refiner, is facing a potential drop in its Russian oil imports this fiscal year ending March 31, following the latest U.S. sanctions on Moscow, according to its head of finance,

Russia has continued to send cargoes of crude oil to India on tankers that have been sanctioned by the US, Bloomberg reported on Tuesday. This situation presents a crucial test of Moscow’s ability to circumvent the stringent sanctions implemented by Washington earlier this month.

The United States has clarified to India that tankers loaded with Russian oil have to discharge by Feb. 27 under the latest sanctions targeting Moscow's oil revenue, India's oil secretary Pankaj Jain told reporters at an event.

China and India have halted trade in Russian oil due to US sanctions, which have caused a sharp rise in tanker shipping costs, Reuters reports. According to traders and shipping companies, trade in Russian oil that was loaded in March has stopped in Asia,

In China, there is a lack of interest in March deliveries of oil from Russia following the imposition of new American sanctions on the Russian "shadow fleet", which have led to increased tanker transport costs not covered by these sanctions,

Trade for March-loading Russian oil in China and India has stalled due to soaring shipping costs triggered by U.S. sanctions introduced on Jan. 10, Reuters reported on Jan. 28. The sanctions target nearly 200 vessels in Russia's "shadow fleet,