Russia, through direct or indirect purchases, collected in 2022 a fleet of at least 103 tankers in order to get around the Western restrictions on the sale of Russian oil after an invasion of Ukraine.
Financial Times with reference to the Braemar shipping broker and the Rystad consulting company writes that Moscow is going to maintain oil flow to India, China and Turkey – countries that will become the largest buyers of Russian hydrocarbons after the introduction of the oil embargo.
Buying its own ships, Russia is trying to circumvent EU and G7 sanctions. The restrictions will be banned by insurers, such as Lloyd’s of London, to serve vessels transporting Russian oil if they are sold without taking into account the price ceiling.
Against this background, the number of anonymous or new buyers of 12-15-year-old tankers has grown sharply. Such vessels are expected to be disposed of in the next few years.
companies associated with Russia are suspected of acquiring up to 29 super -tankers (VLCC), each of which is capable of transporting more than 2 million barrels, Braemar told the International Energy Agency in November. Moscow, probably, was also acquired by the 31 Suezmax tanker, capable of transporting about 1 million barrels, and 49 Aframax tankers, each of which is capable of transporting about 700,000 barrels.
Earlier, the countries of the G7 and Australia, following the European Union, agreed on the introduction of a ceiling of prices for Russian oil at $ 60 per barrel. The restriction involves the adjustment mechanism: from mid -January, restrictions can be changed once every two months to keep the price of Russian oil 5% lower than the market.