U.S. Allows Dark-Fleet Oil Tankers to Shed Sanctions, Wright Says

The Trump administration has authorized the sale of sanctioned oil tankers in an effort to convert them into lawful vessels that can ship crude oil, US Energy Secretary Chris Wright said. The move aims to expand the fleet of ships available for transporting crude and boost the supply disrupted by the Iran war and the closure of the Strait of Hormuz, Wright explained at a Citadel Securities event in New York on Monday (Oct 19).

The administration is working with investors to refurbish the idled sanctioned tankers and use them to transport non-sanctioned oil, Wright said. "We're going to move some of the ships from what I call the 'bad-guy fleet' to the 'good-guy fleet',” Wright said. "They will not carry sanctioned oil anymore." The effort to convert the "dark fleet" of approximately 1,600 sanctioned tankers into lawful ships could add "dozens" or even "hundreds" of tankers to the legitimate fleet, Wright estimated.

The administration's decision to work with Russian President Vladimir Putin to release diesel supplies into global markets in a widely criticized move was partly to provide an incentive for the Kremlin to end the conflict with Ukraine, Wright added.