Russian vessel Tantal tanker

FILE PHOTO: The Russian vessel Tantal, an oil/chemical tanker is seen at sea outside the far eastern city of Vladivostok, Russia, October 9, 2017
Some 62 million barrels of Russia's flagship Urals crude oil, a record amount, are sitting in vessels at sea, data from energy analytics firm Vortexa showed, as traders struggled to find buyers for the crude.

Report informs, citing Reuters, that the volume of Urals crude oil on the water is triple the pre-war average, Vortexa said, even as Russian seaborne oil exports fell to 6.7 million barrels per day (bpd) so far in May, down about 15% from the 7.9 bpd in February.

The number of Urals cargoes at sea with no set destination is 15% of the total, also a new high, Seigle added. Some of the oil could be in transit to undisclosed buyers, while others could be unsold cargoes.

Most barrels of Russian crude oil have headed to Asia, mainly India and China, while volumes to Europe have also ticked up ahead of a ban.