Reuters: The US is inspecting 100 oil tankers for possible violations of sanctions against Russia

The US Treasury Department suspects 100 vessels of violating Western sanctions on Russian oil.

Reuters writes about this with reference to its own source.

Ship management companies in approximately 30 countries have been notified. The US Treasury has not officially commented on this information.

Some of the tankers were unloading Russian oil from the Pacific port of Kozmino, while others were loading at the port of Primorsk in the Gulf of Finland. In particular, one of the companies that received a request for information was the Turkish Beks Shipping.

The publication notes that this is the largest US investigation since Washington and its allies introduced a price cap on Russian oil.

• On February 4, 2023, the Council of the European Union officially approved price restrictions on oil products exported or originating from the Russian Federation. The marginal price of discounted Russian petroleum products (such as fuel oil) is currently $45 per barrel, and $100 for premium products such as diesel. These are the maximum prices at which oil products from the Russian Federation can be transported by sea to third countries. They came into effect on February 5, 2023.
• Bloomberg discovered two companies from India and the United Arab Emirates that help Russia avoid sanctions by providing it with oil tankers.
• In August , the United States warned Turkey of the "real risk of sanctions" if its companies continue to help Russia with oil exports.
• In October , the United States introduced sanctions against companies and ships that violated the price limit for Russian oil.