Three tankers carrying over 2 million barrels of Russian crude oil are floating off China's coast after they were hit by fresh U.S. sanctions last week, Bloomberg reported on Jan. 13.
The vessels are allegedly part of the so-called "shadow fleet," a group of tankers routinely used to evade sanctions targeting Russia's oil trade.
This development follows the U.S. and U.K.'s most extensive sanctions on Russia's oil sector, announced on Jan. 10. The measures target over 180 vessels in the shadow fleet, along with Russian oil companies and energy officials.
The Huihai Pacific, Mermar, and Olia, each carrying Eastern Siberia–Pacific Ocean (ESPO) crude from Russia's Kozmino port, have diverted from their planned ports in China. The Huihai Pacific, initially headed for Dongjiakou in Shandong province, is now offshore, while the Mermar and Olia, bound for Yantai, are sitting in the Yellow Sea.
Reuters reported on Jan. 8 that China's Shandong Port Group had prohibited U.S.-sanctioned tankers from accessing its ports in the eastern Chinese province.
The shadow fleet has also been implicated in transporting sanctioned Iranian oil. The U.S. Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) identified the tankers as key components of Russia's strategy to bypass restrictions on its oil exports.
The sanctions aim to disrupt Moscow's ability to fund its war in Ukraine, which President Volodymyr Zelensky called on Jan. 10 a "significant blow to the financial foundation of Russia's war machine."
China has deepened its ties with Russia since the start of the Kremlin's full-scale war against Ukraine, although Beijing has denied accusations of supporting Russia’s military efforts.
The mounting economic pressure has nevertheless forced many Chinese financial institutions to scale down economic ties with Russia, fearing secondary sanctions.
Sarah C. Paine
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