On the eve of sanctions, the "clean" tankers of the gray fleet stand up for the transportation of Russian oil

At the end of February, US sanctions will come into force against more than 160 tankers that transported Russian oil. To delivery routes from Additional vessels that are not under sanctions are leaving Russia.

According to AIS of vessels, the 17-year-old tanker Ling Hong loaded more than 670 thousand barrels in the Far Eastern port of Kozmino and on February 7 should deliver cargo to the Chinese port of Dongying in the Chinese province of Shandong.

As Bloomberg notes, this tanker is not under sanctions and has started transporting Russian oil for the first time. The Bhilva vessel is also being loaded, the agency continues.

"The sanctions of the outgoing Biden administration are directed against about 70% of the vessels serving Kozmino, which threatens the flow of ESPO grade oil to China," Bloomberg writes.

According to him, ESPO traders are responsible for all logistical aspects of trading in the delivery of oil to customers. Chinese refineries are the main consumers of this variety. In order to avoid sanctions, additional vessels that are not under sanctions began to be brought to the route.

AIS data of the vessels say that seven more tankers are located at the port or should arrive there in the coming days. And only two of them are under sanctions: Freda — under American, and the former Sai Baba — under British.

Bloomberg noted that additional tankers that are not under restrictions appear on other routes. For example, Breeze III loaded in the Baltic Ust-Luga and goes to Asia — passes the Red Sea.

"Logistics is being restored to ensure that Russian barrels can continue to arrive to customers without shifting the sanctions risk to them," analysts at RBC Capital Markets LLC wrote in a note to clients.