Due to US sanctions, dozens of Russian oil tankers have been idle for months, which shows the effectiveness of restrictive measures.
How US sanctions deprive Russia of revenues from oil sales
On October 3, 40 vessels carrying Russian oil were added to the US sanctions list due to a violation of the established price limit for the sale of oil.
It is emphasised that only SCF Primorye managed to collect the cargo after being on the US sanctions list.
If it can unload without problems, it could encourage Russia to use more vessels for trade again.
Sanctions and price caps imposed on Russia have been criticised as too easily circumvented by Moscow, given how large the flow of oil remains from the country.
What is known about the ships of Russia's shadow fleet come under US sanctions
21 of 40 vessels belong to the Russian state shipping company PJSC Sovkomflot.
Most of the other 19 are controlled by Hennesea Holdings Ltd., based in the United Arab Emirates.
It is noted that the sanctions affected only a small part of the Russian Federation's shadow fleet, which operates to circumvent the Western price limit on the sale of Russian oil.
One of the 40 vessels was removed from the list in April, allowing it to use international insurance services.
After being delisted, the ship loaded a cargo of US oil but remained anchored off the Texas coast.
According to vessel tracking data, the rest of the sanctioned vessels are idle and scattered around the world.
Eight Sovkomflot tankers are near Russian ports in the Pacific Ocean, where some of them have been for more than five months.
In the Black Sea, another cluster of idle Sovcomflot tankers has come under sanctions.
