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Blacklisted oil tankers halt deliveries en route after sanctions clampdown

At least 20 laden crude and product tankers blacklisted by the US have halted voyages from Russia, Iran and Venezuela since the start of the year as a major Western clampdown on “shadow fleet” tankers triggers concerns over significant disruptions to seaborne oil trade.

The 20 ships are currently either moored or anchored after loading 16 million barrels of crude, 1.6 million clean products and 922,300 barrels of fuel oil from the countries whose exports are targeted by Western countries, according to tanker tracking data from S&P Global Commodities at Sea(opens in a new tab).

US Office of Foreign Assets Control added more than 150 shadow tankers to its blacklist on Jan. 10, bringing the total US blacklist to more than 470 vessels. In addition to the major blacklist expansion, the US Treasury sanctioned swathes of oil traders, insurance companies, and energy officials it believes are facilitating the export of Russian oil. The move came three days after China’s Shandong Port Group, whose terminals are often used by top sanctioned oil buyers, confirmed a ban on the entry of US-sanctioned ships.

Around 95% of the newly sanctioned vessels loaded crude and refined products that originated from Russia, while some of the remaining sanctioned vessels loading oil originated from Iraq and Iran, analysis by S&P Global Commodity Insights shows. The newly sanctioned tankers loaded from all origins transported 1.6 million b/d of crude in 2024 and 200,000 b/d of oil products. Of the 1.8 million b/d total, 1.5 million b/d consisted of Russia-origin crude to markets primarily in China and India.

In percentage terms, anchor time of the OFAC-sanctioned fleet of 448 tankers has risen to 11% from 9% on Jan. 6 when ships loaded with oil are taken into account, according to an analysis of CAS data.

Trade disruption
The sanctions clampdown has triggered upheaval in tanker freight rates and crude differentials as market watchers anticipate refiners in China and India turning to alternative crude and product supplies mostly from the Middle East. In November, more than 80% of Russia’s seaborne crude exports were lifted by tankers not flagged, owned or operated by companies based in the G7, the EU, Australia, Switzerland, and Norway, and not insured by Western protection and indemnity clubs, according to data from CAS and S&P Global Maritime Intelligence Risk Suite.
Around 95% of the newly sanctioned vessels loaded crude and refined products that originated from Russia, while some of the remaining sanctioned ships loaded oil originating from Iraq and Iran, Commodity Insights analysis shows. In 2024, China imported an estimated 1.75 million b/d of crude oil via OFAC-sanctioned vessels, of which almost 1.10 million b/d were discharged in Shandong’s ports.

Oil tanker freight rates have already responded to the recent sanction developments with many expecting a tighter market until workarounds are found, according to Adam Lanning, a senior tanker analyst at ship brokerage Spence Young.

“The VLCC market has picked up significantly in recent days following this uncertainty, and it will be key to follow how the situation develops to see how much this upside will be sustained in the months ahead,” Lanning said.

Platts, part of Commodity Insights, assessed its index for scrubber-fitted VLCCs at $38,300/d Jan. 13. The assessment, which started in March, has risen steadily 63% from Jan. 2. On a regional basis, Platts assessed the rate to carry a 270,000 mt cargo of crude from the Persian Gulf to Singapore at $9.93/mt Jan. 14, up 66% from Dec. 31.
Source: Platts

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