Russian oil tankers under construction added to U.S. sanctions list

This is reported by Reuters.

For the first time, Washington imposed sanctions against tankers before they even went to sea, when it comes to the transportation of sanctioned goods.

A Reuters review of the measures found that the six tankers under construction at Russia's Zvezda shipyard were among 183 vessels hit. They include the Nursultan Nazarbayev, the Alexander Beggrov, the Alexey Bogolyubov and three yet to be named: Zvezda 131080, Zvezda 131060 and Zvezda 131040.

Russia's Sovcomflot is the buyer of the Alexander Beggrov and the Alexey Bogolyubov, according to the sanctions' text, while Rosneft's shipping arm Rosnefteflot is the buyer of the other four. Both buyers are also under U.S. sanctions.

Read also Russian oil tankers stalled as U.S. sanctions bite

“The sanctions imposed last week caused a spike in the price of oil and a surge in the cost of tanker shipping, as the outgoing Biden administration took steps to damage Russia's oil exports and hinder attempts by Moscow to build its own fleet,” the article says.

According to the news agency's source, who is involved in the Russian oil trade, such sanctions may make it difficult for Moscow to justify the cost of completing tankers.

According to a Reuters study, Russia will also face a shortage of tankers for oil exports after the sanctions, as more than 60% of the listed oil ships have entered Russian ports in the past two months.