Russian oil tankers stalled in China amid US sanctions
Bloomberg reported on Monday that three tankers carrying Russian crude oil—two million barrels of oil — are stranded off the coast of China due to the latest American sanctions. The sanctions were imposed last Friday.
Two ships, Huihai Pacific and Mermar, were sailing under the Panamanian flag, and a tanker named Olia was under the flag of Gabon. Friday's sanctions package listed them among 183 units belonging to the so-called shadow fleet, transporting Russian oil at a price above the set cap of 60 dollars per barrel.
US sanctions took effect
All three ships set sail at the beginning of January from Russia's Kozmino oil port, about 85 kilometres southeast of Vladivostok. Their destination was ports in China's Shandong province, where many refineries are located to receive crude oil from countries subject to American embargoes.
When implementing sanctions, representatives of the US administration emphasised that this most stringent package of restrictions imposed so far should cause losses in Russia reaching up to billions of dollars monthly.
The Reuters Agency reported on 8th January that the Shandong group, servicing major ports on the eastern coast of the PRC, has banned sanctioned tankers from entering them. Through these ports, oil is imported into China from Russia, Iran, and Venezuela.
Oil prices rising
Radical American sanctions have affected oil quotes. The popular Brent crude, after rising by almost four percent in the previous session, reached the level of $81 per barrel. Meanwhile, the American West Texas Intermediate reached almost $78, Bloomberg calculates.
- The restrictions announced by the White House targeting the Russian energy sector will significantly increase pressure on the Kremlin but should have been implemented at the beginning of the war - said Dr Benjamin L. Schmitt, an energy policy expert from the University of Pennsylvania. He added that the new administration should further strengthen sanctions.
On Friday, the White House imposed comprehensive restrictions on more than 400 entities, including two of Russia's largest oil producers (Gazprom Neft and Surgutneftegaz), which account for over a quarter of this raw material's exports. White House officials announced that the sanctions aim to target every phase of Russian oil sales, from production, through distribution and trade companies, to ports receiving Russian tankers.
