USA sanctions unfinished Russian tankers — details
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Six Russian oil tankers still under construction at Russia's Zvezda shipyard have been hit by US sanctions imposed last week. This is the first time that Washington has imposed a ban on tankers before they have even begun operation, let alone transportation of sanctioned cargo.
This was reported by Reuters.
New U.S. sanctions
The sanctions imposed last week caused a spike in oil prices and an increase in the cost of tanker transportation. The outgoing Biden administration took these measures to hurt Russia's oil exports and prevent Moscow from building its own fleet.
Currently, six tankers under construction at the Zvezda shipyard are on the list of 183 sanctioned ships. They include the Nursultan Nazarbayev, Alexander Beggrov, Alexey Bogolyubov, and three tankers that have not yet been named: Zvezda 131080, Zvezda 131060 and Zvezda 131040.
According to the text of the sanctions document, the buyer of the tankers Alexander Begrov and Alexey Bogolyubov is the Russian company Sovcomflot, while the other four ships were ordered by Rosneft's shipping division, Rosnefteflot. Both buyers are also subject to U.S. sanctions.
Rosneft and shipyard representatives did not respond to media requests for comment. The Russian Transport Ministry and Sovcomflot declined to comment. The U.S. Treasury Department's Office of Foreign Assets Control has also not yet responded to a request for comment.
As a reminder, the United States recently imposed new sanctions on Russia. Joe Biden's administration has denied that these restrictions were imposed as a way to exert future pressure or influence on Russia. The United Kingdom did not stay away from the restrictions either.
