Dozens of oil tankers drop anchor after latest US sanctions bite

Jonathan Saul - Reuters - 14/01
At least 65 oil tankers have dropped anchor at multiple locations, including off the coasts of China and Russia, since the United States announced a new sanctions package on Jan. 10, ship tracking data showed on Monday.
  • Around 10% of the global tanker fleet hit by US sanctions
  • Tanker rates rising as non-sanctioned ships in demand
  • China's Shadong port bans tankers hit by US sanctions - traders
LONDON, Jan 13 (Reuters) - At least 65 oil tankers have dropped anchor at multiple locations, including off the coasts of China and Russia, since the United States announced a new sanctions package on Jan. 10, ship tracking data showed on Monday.
Five of those tankers were stationary off Chinese ports and a further seven dropped anchor off Singapore, with others halting near Russia in the Baltic Sea and the Far East, according to Reuters' analysis based on MarineTraffic and LSEG ship tracking data.
The U.S. Treasury on Friday imposed sanctions on Russian oil producers Gazprom Neft and Surgutneftegaz, as well as on 183 vessels that have shipped Russian oil, as it targets the revenues Moscow has used to fund its war with Ukraine.
The halt in trading for these tankers adds to further pressure on vessels already hit by previous U.S. sanctions.
These ...
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