Bloomberg: At least two companies from India and the UAE are helping Russia transport oil to bypass sanctions

Bloomberg found two companies from India and the United Arab Emirates that help Russia circumvent sanctions by providing it with oil tankers.

These are Dubai-based Fractal and Mumbai-based Gatik. Together, they own $2 billion in assets. Reporters discovered that Gatikʼs site is under development, and Fractalʼs site only has a recruitment email address.

Data compiled by Bloomberg show that almost all Fractal and Gatik tankers have called at Russian ports this year or transhipped Russian products from ship to ship.

According to journalistsʼ estimates, the Gatik fleet can carry approximately 30 million barrels of oil and fuel. Fractalʼs transportation capacity is approaching 15 million barrels.

The first tanker was purchased by both companies in June 2022, and the last one was bought in February this year. One of the tankers named Jumbo, which the Gatik company purchased on February 3, was spotted in the port of Ust-Luga in the Baltic Sea on February 11.

India and the United Arab Emirates have not joined Western sanctions against the Russian oil industry.

• On February 4, 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 also wrote that Estonia, Lithuania and Poland proposed lowering the limit from $60 per barrel to $51.45. They claim it will be 5% below the market price.