The United States suspects at least 100 vessels of transporting Russian oil more expensive than the price ceiling
The US Treasury sent official inquiries to the companies that own these vessels
The US Treasury Department has requested information from shipping companies from 30 countries about about a hundred vessels suspected of transporting Russian oil in violation of Western sanctions.
Source. Reuters writes about this with reference to a person familiar with the relevant documents.
According to the source, there have been similar requests from the United States before, but this is the largest.
The G7 countries and the European Union introduced a price ceiling on Russian oil at the end of last year. It prohibits tankers from using insurance and financial services from Western countries if they buy oil for more than $60 per barrel.
Meanwhile, while the restriction worked in the first half of 2023, the price of Urals exceeded the ceiling in the summer. This was due to both the rise in oil prices on the world market and the formation of a large shadow fleet for the transportation of Russian oil, whose vessels do not use the services of Western financial companies.
According to S&P Global, more than half of Russia's crude oil exports are carried by tankers that do not have Western insurance.
Some of the tankers being investigated by the US Treasury Department picked up oil from the Baltic port of Primorsk, where Urals crude is exported, while others picked up oil from the Far Eastern port of Kozmino, a Reuters source said.
In Kozmino, the tankers pick up ESPO crude oil supplied by the East Siberia-Pacific Ocean pipeline. This grade is more expensive than Urals, its price has long exceeded the ceiling and is now almost equal to the price of a barrel of Brent, which cost $82.6 on Monday.
The Reuters source named only one company to which the US Treasury sent a request – Turkish Beks Shipping.
A month ago, the US imposed sanctions against Turkey's Ice Pearl Navigation, owner of the Yasa Golden Bosphorus tanker, which, according to the US Treasury, was transporting ESPO oil at a price of more than $80 per barrel, as well as Lumber Marine from the UAE, which owns the SCF Primoyre tanker, which was transporting Novy Port at a price above $75.
Background. As a reminder, the European Parliament has recognized that the introduction of a price ceiling on Russian oil is ineffective.
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