European Commission proposes to ban sale of oil tankers to Russia
The European Commission proposes to ban the sale of tankers for transportation of crude oil and oil products to Russia.
These measures are being considered to prevent Moscow from bypassing Western sanctions on Russian oil with a shadow fleet of ships, as reported by Reuters.
Relevant proposals were discussed on 17 November by ambassadors of EU governments.
It also states that the sale of tankers to third countries should include contractual provisions that the ships cannot be resold to Russia.
In addition, the measure entails a ban on third countries using such tankers to transport Russian crude oil or petroleum products in violation of Western price restrictions – that is, if the price of crude oil exceeds US$60 per barrel.
Background: In September, it was reported that Russia managed to avoid the restrictions of the G7 countries on most of its oil exports, and such a change in trade flows will increase the Kremlin's revenues as oil prices are rising up to US$100 per barrel.
On 16 November, the United States tightened sanctions against Russia. Among other things, three tankers under the Liberian flag fell under the restrictions for violating the oil price ceiling.
On 15 November, the US Treasury Department requested information from shipping companies from 30 countries about about a hundred ships suspected of transporting Russian oil in violation of Western sanctions.
In October, the United States imposed sanctions caused by the violation of the price ceiling during the sale of Russian oil.
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