At least 65 oil tankers have been kept out of port since US sanctions were imposed on January 10.
Reuters writes about this with reference to ship tracking services.
According to these services, five tankers are stationed at Chinese ports, another seven are off the coast of Singapore, and the rest are off the coast of Russia in the Baltic Sea and the Far East.
As Reuters notes, the trade stop increases pressure on vessels already affected by previous US sanctions – these are 25 oil tankers anchored, in particular, in Iranian ports, as well as near the Suez Canal.
Supertanker freight rates have jumped after the US expanded sanctions against Russian oil trade. Traders are rushing to book ships to pick up supplies from other countries for shipment to China and India, ship brokers and traders say.
Many of the sanctioned vessels, part of the “shadow fleet,” were used to deliver oil to India and China, which bought up cheap Russian supplies banned in Europe after the conflict in Ukraine began. Some of the tankers were also transporting oil from Iran, which is also under sanctions.
Freight rates for very large crude carriers (VLCCs) capable of carrying 2 million barrels of oil on major routes jumped after Unipec, the trading arm of Asia’s largest refiner Sinopec, chartered several supertankers on Friday, industry sources said.
Daily rates on the Middle East-China route, known as TD3C, have risen 39% since Friday, the highest since October, a ship broker said.
Rates for transporting Russian oil to China also jumped after the imposition of sanctions.
On Monday, freight rates for Aframax-sized tankers to carry ESPO blend crude from the Russian Pacific port of Kozmino to North China more than doubled to $3.5 million, according to S&P Global Commodity Insights. this route.
Making matters worse, sanctioned tankers are stuck outside China’s eastern Shandong province, unable to unload after a ban imposed by Shandong Port Group before Washington announced new restrictions on Friday.
Analysts say tanker availability could shrink further as traders seek unsanctioned vessels to carry Russian and Iranian oil.
Rakurs wrote that India will not allow tankers that are subject to new US sanctions for transporting Russian oil into its ports, a senior Indian official said. According to him, only ships that were chartered before January 10 will be allowed to unload, provided that they do this before March 12.
In addition, Indian banks will now require certificates of origin for oil to ensure it comes from non-sanctioned suppliers, the official added.
Source: Racurs
I am David Wyatt, a professional writer and journalist for Buna Times. I specialize in the world section of news coverage, where I bring to light stories and issues that affect us globally. As a graduate of Journalism, I have always had the passion to spread knowledge through writing.