US blacklists 14 Russian oil tankers

The US Treasury Department has imposed sanctions on Russia's leading shipping group, ordering it to remove oil and cargo from 14 of its tankers within 45 days.

The move by the US is part of an effort to cut off Russia’s oil and gas revenues. Accordingly, the US Treasury Department imposed sanctions on Russia’s leading shipping group Sovcomflot and said it had 45 days to unload oil and other goods from 14 of its tankers before the order was implemented.

“Today, we take the next step by targeting Russia’s largest state-owned shipping company and fleet operator, dealing a major blow to their covert operations,” US Treasury Undersecretary Wally Adeyemoo said in a statement.

A crude oil tanker owned by Russia's leading tanker group Sovcomflot passes through the Bosphorus Strait in Istanbul, Turkey on September 6, 2020. Photo: Reuters.

Previously, the European Union and Australia imposed a price ceiling of $60 per barrel of Russian crude oil.

But a senior US Treasury official said on Friday that the Kremlin had sought to circumvent the price cap by investing in a “submarine fleet” of energy market trading infrastructure that operates outside the alliance’s services, allowing Moscow to enjoy higher oil prices in the summer and fall.

As a result, Washington has had to take other actions to increase the cost for Russia to use its submarine fleet to transport oil in order to enjoy prices above the ceiling, an official said.

Since the price cap was imposed, Russia’s oil revenues have fallen. On the same day, February 23, the US imposed wide-ranging sanctions on Russia, targeting more than 500 individuals and organizations on the occasion of the two-year anniversary of the Russia-Ukraine conflict.

Earlier, on February 22, the UK announced more than 50 new sanctions against Russia. According to the announcement of the UK Foreign Office, the above sanctions target 14 entities and individuals involved in the production of ammunition and weapons such as rocket launchers, missiles and explosives.

Quynh Trang (according to AFP)

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