“Russia’s “Phantom Fleet” suffers a blow: dozens of tankers cannot enter portsNew US sanctions have stopped 10% of Russia’s shadowy oil transportation fleet. About 65 tankers with Russian oil cannot enter the
ports of China and other countries.”, — write: unn.ua
Transmits to UNN with reference to DW, Moscow Times та Bloomberg.
Details
The latest sanctions imposed by Washingtonhave halted much of the ghost fleet that Moscow uses to sell its oil abroad. [10 percent of the shadow fleet’s tankers are stuck at sea. The Moscow Times reports that a tenth of the Russian shadow fleet’s tankers, carrying more than $3.5 billion worth of oil, are having problems.
Among the many sanctions imposed by Washington and its partners, special attention is paid to one resource: oil, the sale of which has provided Moscow with significant financial revenues that have been filling the state budget for years. The European Union has imposed an embargo on 90% of oil imported from Russia, and Western countries have imposed an upper limit on the price of black gold exported by Moscow.
Under this system, any vessel operated by Western companies (the latter provide the vast majority of this type of service) that transports Russian oil is subject to a ceiling that prevents it from being sold for more than $60 per barrel. This decision deprives Moscow of a significant margin on oil sales.
According to Lloyd’s List Intelligence, the total size of Russia’s shadow fleet is almost 670 vessels. Reuters reported that as of January 13, at least 65 tankers carrying Russian oil could not enter the ports of China and other countries.
For many of Moscow’s clients, the risk is no longer worth it: buying oil transported by these ships could lead to US sanctions, which is too great a risk.
According to Bloomberg, 21.1 million barrels of crude oil were loaded in Russian ports in the week to January 12, and 21.2 million barrels the week before. The average daily export rate in December was almost 3 million barrels, so in 2.5 weeks, tankers could have exported about 53 million barrels of oil worth $3.3-3.6 billion.
A total of 183 tankers flying the flags of various countries are now under restrictions, allegedly transporting Russian oil and oil products in violation of Western sanctions imposed because of Russia’s ongoing war against Ukraine.
Recall
Representatives of more than 20 countries discussed toughening sanctions against Russian oil exports. The Russian shadow fleet of 600 vessels brought the aggressor $180 billion in revenue last year.
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