New US sanctions

Russian “shadow fleet” in trouble

Archive image from 2022: A Russian cargo ship in the Black Sea

(Bild: APA/AFP/Ozan KOSE)

The toughest US sanctions to date against Russian oil producers and oil tankers already appear to be having an effect. Since the announcement on Friday, at least 65 oil tankers have reportedly temporarily stopped working.

According to shipping data released on Monday, five of them were moored off Chinese ports and seven off Singapore. Others remained near Russia in the Baltic Sea and the Far East, according to an analysis by the Reuters news agency based on data from providers LSEG and MarineTraffic. 

In addition, according to market estimates on Monday, daily revenues for supertankers rose by more than ten percent to around 26,000 dollars (around 25,500 euros). The Treasury Department in Washington has imposed sanctions on the Russian oil producers Gazprom Neft and Surgutneftegas as well as on 183 ships that have transported Russian oil.

Significant impact on global oil market expected
According to the US, this is intended to cut the revenues of the government in Moscow, which it is using to finance the war of aggression against Ukraine. Analysts estimate that around ten percent of the global oil tanker fleet is affected by the US measures. The measure is expected to have a significant impact on the global oil market.

A Russian oil tanker

(Bild: AFP)

"These sanctions will significantly reduce the shipping fleet available for deliveries from Russia in the short term and drive up freight costs," Matt Wright, senior freight analyst at data firm Kpler, said on Sunday. He said 143 of the newly sanctioned ships are oil tankers that handled more than 530 million barrels of Russian crude oil last year, or about 42 percent of the country's total seaborne crude exports. Of this, around 300 million barrels were shipped to China and the rest to India.

Oil price at multi-month high
"Prices of oil from the Middle East, Africa and Brazil have already risen in recent months due to rising demand from China and India," said a representative of the Indian oil refining industry. "We have no choice but to resort to oil from the Middle East. We may also have to consider US oil," said the Indian representative. Following the announcement of the new sanctions, global oil prices rose to a multi-month high of over 81 dollars (around 79 euros) per barrel for Brent crude.