The United States blacklisted 14 Russian oil tankers on Friday.
Washington:
The United States on Friday blacklisted 14 Russian oil tankers in an attempt to cut Moscow’s oil revenues by enforcing price caps imposed by the West after the invasion of Ukraine.
The U.S. Treasury Department imposed sanctions on state-owned shipping company Sovcomflot and said it would give it 45 days to unload oil or other cargo from its 14 ships before being implemented.
The price cap is intended to limit the Kremlin’s profits while still allowing supplies to energy markets.
“Today we are taking the next step in targeting Russia’s largest state-owned shipping company and fleet operator, dealing a huge blow to their shadow operations,” U.S. Treasury Undersecretary Wally Adeyemo said in a statement. “
“We are moving into the next phase of increasing Russia’s costs in a responsible way to reduce risks,” he added.
Previously, a coalition composed of the Group of Seven, the European Union and Australia set a price ceiling for Russian crude oil at $60 per barrel.
But a senior Treasury official told reporters on Friday that the Kremlin was trying to circumvent the cap by investing in a “shadow fleet” of energy market trading infrastructure.
This practice operates outside of alliance services, allowing Moscow to earn higher oil prices in the summer and autumn.
That’s why Washington is focused on stepping up enforcement operations while “increasing the costs for Russia to use its shadow fleet to move oil beyond price caps,” the official said, speaking on condition of anonymity.
Revenues in Russia have fallen since the price cap was enacted.
The actions took place on the eve of the second anniversary of Russia’s invasion of neighboring Ukraine.
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