Dozens of Russian oil tankers anchored after latest US sanctions, Reuters reports

Since the United States announced a new package of sanctions on 10 January, at least 65 oil tankers have been anchored in various locations, including off the coasts of China and Russia.

Source: Reuters

Details: Five of these tankers remain off Chinese ports, seven more are anchored off Singapore, and the rest are anchored off Russia in the Baltic Sea and the Far East, according to a Reuters analysis based on data from MarineTraffic and LSEG.

The US Treasury Department imposed sanctions on Russian oil producers Gazprom Neft and Surgutneftegas, as well as 183 vessels transporting Russian oil, on 10 January. These measures are aimed at reducing the revenues that Moscow uses to finance the war against Ukraine.

The suspension of these tankers' operations adds further pressure on vessels already affected by previous US sanctions.

A shipping analysis released on Monday, 13 January indicates that another 25 oil tankers remain stationary in various locations, including off Iranian ports and near the Suez Canal.

Some ports have already started operating before the new measures were introduced, adding to the load. For example, Shandong Port Group has banned tankers under US sanctions from entering its ports, as traders reported last week.

Analysts estimate that about 10% of the global oil tanker fleet is under US sanctions.

Quote from Jefferies analyst Omar Nokta: "The effect of these sanctions should be supportive to the tanker market as vessel supply in the broader fleet shrinks, but the real potential strength would come once other exporters make up for the lost volumes." 

More details: The average daily earnings of supertankers rose by more than 10% on Monday compared to the previous day to around US$26,000, according to market estimates.

Some customers had already started booking vessels on Friday after the sanctions were announced, indicating a growing shortage of tankers.

Quote from trade analytics platform Kpler: "Increased demand for exports to India and China from outside Russia will increase non-sanctioned tanker demand." 

Background:

• The US Treasury Department's Office of Foreign Assets Control imposed sanctions on two of Russia's largest oil companies, Gazprom Neft and Surgutneftegas, as well as ship insurance companies Ingosstrakh and AlfaStrakhovanie.
• The Financial Times noted that the sanctions include the blacklisting of 183 shadow fleet vessels involved in energy exports from Russia.
• India intends to abandon oil tankers that the US has sanctioned because of their role in transporting goods for Russia, which is another example of the impact of Washington's measures on the global oil market.
• Three tankers carrying more than 2 million barrels of Russian oil are floating in the waters off eastern China and cannot be unloaded after the US imposed new sanctions on Russia's largest oil companies on Friday, 10 January.

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