Greek shipowners are withdrawing from the Russian oil market after the US tightened sanctions on the ceiling on the price of the raw material. The analyzes show that in January only eight Greek tankers carried Russian oil compared to 41 in May 2023.
A total of 128 tankers carried Russian oil in January, compared with 158 in May 2023, which is also generally the peak for Russian oil shipments. Greece was one of the EU countries that spoke out against oil sector sanctions imposed at the end of May 2022.
Since the summer of last year, however, the US Treasury Department has begun asking questions of Western shipowners about why they are violating the ceiling set at $60 per barrel by the G7, the EU and Australia. Shortly after, two major Greek companies commented that they were analyzing the situation.
In November, several companies were sanctioned for transporting Russian oil in violation of the sanctions regime. In September and October 2023, the price of the Russian Urals variety was close to the market – above 80 USD per barrel, after Moscow managed to find ways to overcome the sanctions – by buying old tankers, transshipment in the open sea, etc.
The Ministry of Finance of Russia has not yet published its calculations for the average price of the Urals variety since the beginning of the year. Oil loaded at Russia’s Baltic ports is trading about 1 USD above the ceiling, according to Argus Media analysis. The Epso variety, however, exceeds the ceiling by 13 USD per barrel.
The loss of the Greek tankers will put pressure on Moscow despite its own fleet of ships it has bought in recent months. After losing the European market, Russia turned to China and India, which are successfully replacing Europe, but supplies take longer – and therefore require more available ships.
The situation is also complicated by attacks by the Houthis in the Red Sea, who have promised not to fire on Russian ships, but are extending the route of other tankers that bypass the Good Hope on their way to Asia.
