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Bloomberg
Oil tanker owners are avoiding offering their ships to collect crude from Russia as they wait to see what sanctions the country might face after invading Ukraine.
Two shipbrokers and three owners said owners are currently unwilling to make offers to collect Russian barrels. The owners said that oil-freight transportation costs are also very low anyway, making it even more unattractive to do so.
Russia relies on tankers for about two thirds of its crude exports meaning that any prolonged disruption to shipping would be more serious. The country’s oil has already been selling at the deepest discounts in years to an international benchmark as traders fret over how the Ukraine situation will play out.
The West is threatening further punishing sanctions after Russian forces attacked targets across Ukraine and President Vladimir Putin vowed to “demilitarise†the country and replace its leaders, triggering the worst security crisis in Europe since World War II.
Insurers would decline to cover a trip that could soon breach sanctions. On the other hand, not fulfilling contracts also runs the risk of litigation.