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SINGAPORE, Jan 14 Reuters Supertanker freight rates jumped after the U.S. expanded sanctions on Russia39;s oil industry, sending traders rushing to book vessels to ship supply from other countries to China and India, shipbrokers and traders said.

Chinese and Indian refiners are seeking alternative fuel supplies as they adapt to severe new U.S. sanctions on Russian producers and tankers designed to curb the world No. 2 oil exporter39;s revenue.

Many of the newly targeted vessels, part of a shadow fleet, have been used to ship oil to India and China, which snapped up cheap Russian supply that was banned in Europe following Moscow39;s invasion of Ukraine. Some of the tankers have also shipped oil from Iran, which is also under sanctions.

The latest U.S. action means an estimated 35 of some 669 dark fleet tankers involved in shipping Russian, Venezuelan and Iranian oil have been hit with sanctions by either the U.S., UK or EU, according to analysis by Lloyds List Intelligence.

Freight rates for Very Large Crude Carriers VLCCs that can carry 2 million barrels of crude across major routes jumped after Unipec, the trading arm of Asia39;s largest refiner Sinopec, chartered several supertankers on Friday, the sources said.

Unipec also last week snapped up several sweet crude…