Western Sanctions ‘Put Out Of Action’ 50 Russian Oil Tankers

• 10.07.2024, 16:21

They are simply sitting in ports.

Dozens of tankers that previously provided Russian oil exports are sitting idle empty in various ports after Western sanctions. This follows from ship tracking data reviewed by Bloomberg.

In particular, the tankers are in the Baltic and Black Seas, near Vladivostok, off the coast of South Korea, in the Suez Canal and at shipyards in China. In total, 53 tankers, or about 7.5% of the fleet of ships that transport Russian crude oil, have been subject to sanctions by the US, EU and UK since October 2023.

Restrictions against some of them were imposed for violating the oil price ceiling, others were included in the “black list” due to their ownership of Sovcomflot, which is also under sanctions, and others — because they posed a risk to the environment.

Almost all of them have since failed to pick up their cargo. Only three of the ships loaded about 1 million barrels of fuel per tanker, after which they hid their movements by turning off their transponders. “The idling ships prove that the West has levers — if it chooses to pull them — that could hamper the transportation of Russian oil,” Bloomberg writes.