Bloomberg sees sanctions concerns ease over Moscow ties

Japanese refiner Taiyo Oil Co. has received a shipment of Russian crude on a tanker under U.S. and EU sanctions , Bloomberg reports. Tokyo has permission to buy the oil for energy security reasons. The fact that a G7 country is accepting cargo from a sanctioned tanker shows “the growing ease for buyers around the world in dealing with Moscow.”

Tokyo-based Taiyo received 600,000 barrels of Sakhalin Blend crude oil from the tanker Voyager on May 25, which was loaded from the Prigorodnoye terminal on Sakhalin. A Taiyo Oil spokesman confirmed the delivery of the shipment and said the company had purchasedoil at the request of Japan's Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry. Tokyo has an EU permit to import Sakhalin Blend oil until the end of June 2026. Japan also has a US permit that expires on June 28 but is usually extended.

Bloomberg notes that importers of Russian crude oil have been reluctant to accept cargoes shipped on vessels under sanctions by the U.S. Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC). But that hesitancy appears to be easing under Donald Trump, whose administration is seeking to ensure the security of Russian oil supplies.

Earlier, Politico, citing sources, reported that the new, 18th package of anti-Russian EU sanctions could affect companies associated with the Nord Stream gas pipeline system and oil prices.

At the same time, the US Senate is discussing a bill that would impose 500 percent duties on imports from countries that buy Russian oil, petroleum products, natural gas, uranium and other products.

The Russian authorities consider Western sanctions illegal and demand their lifting.