Oil tanker owners in Greece, the world’s largest shipping nation, have reduced the amount of Russian crude oil they carry. This decision may ultimately affect the flow of oil from Moscow, which still trades almost freely with the world despite Western sanctions because of Russia’s war against Ukraine. And Greece willingly provided assistance in circumventing sanctions.
According to ship tracking data compiled by Bloomberg, the number of Greek oil tankers heading to Russia will be down by a quarter from last month and 60% from June. This may be a concern for the Russian government, as the country still needs the help of foreign shipping operators to deliver all of its oil to the world market.
Earlier this month, the US Treasury Department “scared” some tanker owners by asking them about compliance with the G7 price cap on Russian oil. Representatives of two Athens-based companies said they were cautiously assessing the situation.
This caution is supported by ship tracking data compiled by Bloomberg, which shows that Greek tankers will carry only 15 cargoes of Urals crude loaded from ports in the Baltic and Black Seas in November, down from 20 cargoes in October.
Greek vessels still carry about one-fifth of all Russian Urals crude oil and about one-seventh of all Russian crude oil cargoes, including those delivered from terminals on the country’s Pacific and Arctic coasts.
Letters from the US Treasury Department sent to about 30 firms controlling about 100 oil tankers have caused concern among some shipowners. One of the letters, seen by Bloomberg, demanded a wide range of information and documentation about the cargo and the participants in these transactions, threatening imprisonment if they failed to comply.
Representatives of the two insurance companies also said that the tone of conversations with the authorities has changed in recent weeks, indicating stricter enforcement of the price cap imposed by sanctions on Russian oil.
The U.S. government has also imposed sanctions on some specific vessels and their owners, although these are mostly little-known companies, most of which, according to Bloomberg, belong to the state-owned Russian tanker company Sovcomflot.
