Tanker traffic jam off Turkey

[Grey Havoc]

Oil tanker jam forms off Turkey after start of Russian oil cap (ft.com, subscription or registration may be required)

A traffic jam of oil tankers has built up in Turkish waters after western powers launched a “price cap” targeting Russian oil and as authorities in Ankara demanded insurers promise that any vessels navigating its straits were fully covered.

Under EU sanctions that came into effect on Monday, tankers loading Russian crude oil are barred from accessing western maritime insurance unless the oil is sold under the G7’s price cap of $60 a barrel. The cap was introduced to keep oil flowing while still crimping Moscow’s revenues.

Four oil industry executives said Turkey had demanded new proof of insurance in light of the price cap. A Turkish transport ministry spokesman did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Russia has vowed to continue exporting its oil even if it is cut off from western insurance markets. Russia has said it will not deal with any country abiding by the cap.

Around 19 crude oil tankers were waiting to cross Turkish waters on Monday, according to ship brokers, oil traders and satellite tracking services. The vessels had dropped anchor near the Bosphorus and Dardanelles, the two straits linking Russia’s Black Sea ports to international markets. The first tanker arrived on November 29 and has been waiting for six days, according to a ship broker who asked not to be named.

The tankers waiting in and around Turkish waters are the first sign that the price cap could disrupt global oil flows beyond Russia’s exports.

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Oil tankers queue up off Turkey as price cap on Russian crude kicks in - FT

Oil tankers formed a traffic jam off the coast of Turkey on day one of the West's price cap on Russian crude, with Ankara insisting on new proof of insurance for all vessels, the Financial Times reported on Monday.

www.reuters.com

Oil tanker traffic jam threatens diplomatic row with Turkey

Demands for additional paperwork following Russia price cap leaves oil tankers stuck in Turkish waters

www.telegraph.co.uk

 

[Grey Havoc]

Western officials blame Turkey for oil disruption (ft.com, subscription or registration may be required)

Western officials have blamed Turkey for the disruption to crude shipments from the Black Sea, stressing there was no reason to block traffic through the Turkish Straits.

At least 22 crude tankers have been stopped from crossing Turkish waters over fears in Ankara that the shipments might be uninsured due to rules that bar tankers transporting Russian crude from accessing European maritime insurance unless the oil is sold for $60 a barrel or less.

But two western officials said the vessels, most of which are loaded with oil from Kazakhstan not Russia, should be allowed to pass.

“It appears that all but one of the roughly 20 loaded crude tankers waiting to cross the straits are carrying Kazakh-origin oil,” one western official involved in the price cap told the Financial Times. “These cargoes would not be subject to the price cap under any scenario, and there should be no change in the status of their insurance from Kazakh shipments in previous weeks or months.”

Oil produced in Kazakhstan by companies including Chevron and ExxonMobil is exported via pipeline across Russia to ports on Russia’s Black Sea coast, where it is loaded on to tankers for the journey through the Turkish Straits to the Mediterranean. Its movement is not restricted under the west’s Russian sanctions.

Turkey has said that the G7 price cap has increased the risks of uninsured vessels in its waters and asked that all crude tankers crossing the Turkish Straits prove they have valid insurance to cover incidents such as oil spills and collisions.

The International Group of P&I Clubs, which provides prevention and indemnity insurance to 90 per cent of the industry, has said it cannot comply. Turkey’s request would require P&I Clubs to guarantee cover, even if it transpired that a vessel had violated sanctions, it says.

Western officials defended the price cap mechanism and argued Turkey’s request for additional assurances from shippers was unnecessary, regardless of whether the cargo was Russian or Kazakh.

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