Sanctioned Oil Tankers Find a Lucrative New Trade in the Persian Gulf
Tankers previously used to ship crude oil from sanctioned countries are now moving crude out of the Middle East, after being removed from sanction lists. Two very large crude carriers that used to transport Venezuelan crude before are now being used to export oil from the Persian Gulf, and two more are en route to the Gulf of Oman, setting off from South America, Bloomberg reported today.…
Tankers once used to transport crude oil from sanctioned nations are now carrying oil from the Middle East, following their removal from sanction lists. Two large crude carriers that previously transported Venezuelan crude are now being utilized to export oil from the Persian Gulf, with two additional tankers en route to the Gulf of Oman from South America, as reported by Bloomberg.
Maritime attorney Benjamin Robinson explained that vessels previously blocked are being delisted or licensed for specific financial transactions, highlighting the flexibility of the system to serve foreign policy objectives. The U.S. administration's announcement earlier this month aimed to bring these previously hidden tankers into the open for carrying unsanctioned oil, driven by the soaring freight rates and the risks associated with traversing the Hormuz Strait.
Energy Secretary Chris Wright affirmed that these tankers would no longer carry sanctioned oil, emphasizing the conversion of "dark tankers" into legitimate vessels. Despite the existence of 1,600 tankers in the so-called dark fleet, there is a shortage of suitable vessels to transport unsanctioned oil. The administration's initiative to legitimize certain dark-fleet tankers may augment the global unsanctioned tanker fleet by a few dozen or even a few hundred ships, according to Wright's estimations.
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