2024-02-24 06:00:00
This Friday, on the eve of the second anniversary of the invasion of Ukraine, and more than a year after the embargo of Western countries (bringing together members of the G7, the EU and Australia) on the Russian oil and capping the price of Russian crude, the United States sanctioned the Russian national shipping company Sovcomflot and its 14 “ghost fleet” tankers used by Russia to circumvent these sanctions.
“The Kremlin’s attempt to escape the price cap by investing in a ghost fleet… allowed it to obtain a smaller discount, overall higher prices on its oil last summer and fall “, a Treasury Department official told reporters.
Sovcomflot has 45 days to unload oil or other cargo from the 14 ships.
As a reminder, the price cap mechanism requires Russia to sell its oil at a maximum of $60 per barrel to coalition member countries. It is also prohibited for companies based in these countries to provide services enabling maritime transport, in particular insurance or reinsurance, of oil sold above this price.
No “P&I” insurance
These ghost ships do not have adequate insurance, called “P&I”, although it is mandatory for commercial ships to cover the risks of war, collisions or environmental damage such as oil spills. Some 90 to 95% of the P&I insurance market is in the hands of insurers from the European Union and the United Kingdom, who therefore no longer have the right to insure cargoes of oil sold for more than 60 dollars per barrel.
Made up of oil tankers with opaque ownership or lacking appropriate insurance, this clandestine fleet allowed Russia to circumvent sanctions and export its oil in order to reduce the impact on its revenues of the oil price capping mechanism. oil. To circumvent sanctions, Moscow has had to reduce its dependence on Western maritime services by buying tankers to which it offers its own insurance services, according to Rystad Energy.
“More than 70% of Russian oil transported by sea is thanks to the ghost fleet,” says Elina Ribakova, economist at the Kyiv School of Economics (KSE)
The KSE institute estimates in its December “Russian Oil Tracker” report that “ 179 tankers » full of black gold « left Russian ports in November 2023.” In October, the Russian black fleet enabled the export of around 2.3 million barrels per day of crude oil and 800,000 barrels per day (mbd) of petroleum products, out of a total Russian production of 10 mbd, adds KSE.
This type of “shadow fleet” is for example also used by Iran and Venezuela, two states under American oil sanctions, or even North Korea, underlines in a note Elisabeth Braw , analyst at the Atlantic Council, a think tank specializing in international relations.
Falling income for Russia
However, the sanctions had the effect of reducing by a third the revenue that Russia earned in 2023 from the export of oil and petroleum products, compared to 2022, according to the coalition countries.
Target this ghost fleet ” forces Russia to choose between using coalition services to ship its oil under the price ceiling » or do it « via the ghost fleet and face increasing costs and harsher enforcement of sanctions from Western authorities », Detailed the head of the American Treasury.
“The cap on Russian oil prices continues to serve its dual objective: limiting the Kremlin’s profits while promoting the stability of energy markets,” said Deputy Secretary of the US Treasury, Wally Adeyemo, quoted in the press release.
According to data from Lloyd’s List Intelligence, the number of these ships doubled last year and now represent around 10% of tankers operating internationally. In January, the Atlantic Council counted 1,400 ships.
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