Six Russian oil tankers still under construction at the Russian shipyard “Zvezda” have been placed under US sanctions, marking the first time Washington has imposed restrictions on tankers before they have even set sail.
This is reported by Reuters.
The US Treasury Department imposed a new package of sanctions last week, targeting 183 vessels. These include the unfinished “Nursultan Nazarbayev”, “Aleksandr Beggrov”, “Aleksei Bogolyubov”, and three unnamed vessels — “Zvezda 131080”, “Zvezda 131060”, and “Zvezda 131040”.
The buyer of the “Aleksandr Beggrov” and the “Aleksey Bogolyubov” is Russiaʼs “Sovcomflot”, and the other four are “Rosneft” shipping division “Rosnefteflot”. Both Sovcomflot and Rosnefteflot are already subject to sanctions.
The US sanctions target Russiaʼs shadow fleet, which it uses to circumvent price caps imposed by the G7 countries at the end of 2022. This cap prohibits Western companies from insuring and shipping Russian oil that sells for more than $ 60 per barrel.
A Reuters study based on shipping data suggests that Russia will face a shortage of vessels to export oil after the sanctions, as more than 60% of the 183 oil tankers hit by the restrictions this time have called at Russian ports in the past two months.
Russiaʼs Shadow Fleet
In early December 2022, the G7 (“Group of Seven”) members, as well as Australia and the European Union, imposed price caps on Russian oil, setting a maximum price of $60 per barrel. From February 5, 2023, these countries introduced price caps on Russian oil products: $100 for diesel fuel, $45 for various lubricants. To circumvent oil sanctions, Russia began forming a shadow fleet.
In July 2024, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer said that Russiaʼs shadow fleet consists of almost 600 ships. Some of the ships of the shadow fleet function as Russian listening stations, while others transport weapons to Russia. With the help of the shadow fleet, the Russian Federation transports approximately 1.7 million barrels of oil per day, which brings large profits to the Kremlin. In 2023, Russia earned $188 billion from oil exports.
In December, Ukrainian intelligence collected files on 238 vessels and 31 captains belonging to the shadow fleet, with the help of which Russia and Iran circumvent oil sanctions and deliver sanctioned oil.
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