Latest US sanctions halt dozens of tankers transporting Russian oil
Фото: ЕРА / UPG
At least 65 oil tankers have been anchored around the world, including off the coasts of China and Russia, after the United States imposed a new package of sanctions on January 10.
Reuters reported this.
According to ship tracking services MarineTraffic and LSEG, as of January 13:
- five tankers were anchored off Chinese ports;
- seven were off the coast of Singapore;
- the rest were anchored off the coast of Russia in the Baltic Sea and the Far East.
It should be noted that the US Treasury Department sanctions affected Russian oil companies Gazprom Neft and Surgutneftegaz and 183 ships transporting Russian oil. The restrictions are aimed at undermining oil revenues that Russia uses to finance its war against Ukraine.
Given this, some ports began to operate before the latest US measures. In particular, Shandong Port Group in China, one of China's largest port companies, has banned tankers under US sanctions. The move is aimed at restricting access to key oil terminals in Shandong province, which is a significant importer of oil from countries under US embargo, such as Iran, Russia, and Venezuela.
Analysts have estimated that about 10% of the world's oil tanker fleet has been affected. At the same time, charterers have already faced a reduced supply of vessels, as many have been rendered unfit for operation due to sanctions.
"Increasing demand for exports to India and China from outside Russia will increase demand for unauthorized tanker traffic," trade analytics platform Kpler reports.
It is worth mentioning that the US expects that due to the latest sanctions against Russia, Moscow will lose billions of dollars a month in oil revenues, which it used to finance the war against Ukraine.
According to Kpler, the latest sanctions affected tankers, which account for about 42% of seaborne oil exports from Russia, mainly to China.
In addition, the UK for the first time also imposed sanctions against the Russian companies Gazprom Neft and Surgutneftegaz. The restrictions will hit Russia's income from oil sales.
Earlier, Rubrika reported that the Japanese government on Friday, January 10, adopted new sanctions against Russia due to the war in Ukraine. The assets of 33 organizations and 12 people, including a North Korean citizen, will be frozen. Tokyo will also restrict the export of 335 goods.
The Russian Federation expects that the shutdown of its factories due to the latest sanctions by the United States will not have a significant impact on world markets, but will significantly reduce Russia's revenue.
For reference:
As early as December 2022, Russia began creating a "shadow fleet" of old tankers to export oil to circumvent sanctions imposed on it due to the war against Ukraine.
As Rubryka wrote earlier, the United States imposed sanctions against the organizers of the transportation of Russian oil sold above the ceiling of $60 per barrel. Thus, all their property in the United States was blocked, and all transactions related to them, carried out both by individuals in the United States in particular and within the country in general, were prohibited.
It is worth mentioning that the European Union intended to direct Denmark to examine and possibly halt tankers carrying Russian oil through its waters. This was part of efforts by Western nations to set a price limit, which Russia has managed to evade.
Moreover, Russian vessels belonging to the so-called "shadow fleet" have been the source of at least nine oil spills worldwide since 2021.
In turn, Ukrainian intelligence has identified 238 oil tankers that provide the Russian Federation with multi-billion dollar revenues and pose threats to global environmental security.
