US lifts sanctions on Turkish tanker for violating oil price ceiling

The United States excluded from the sanctions list the Turkish-registered company Ice Pearl Navigation and its oil tanker Yasa Golden Bosphorus, flying the flag of the Marshall Islands. The corresponding decision was published on the website of the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) of the US Department of the Treasury.

The Turkish company and oil tanker were added to the US sanctions list in October 2023 due to violation of the price ceiling on Russian oil and petroleum products. At the same time, UAE-based Lumber Marine and its tanker SCF Primorye came under restrictions. There was no decree lifting sanctions against this company.

Along with the addition of the sanctions list, the US Treasury issued recommendations on compliance with the price ceiling for Russian oil, noting the growth of “shadow” trade. The document also talked about the “shadow fleet” - ships that participate in such trade. According to OFAC, they tend to be older vessels and are often registered under the flag of states that are “not complying with their international obligations.”

The G7 countries, the EU, Switzerland and Australia have set a so-called ceiling on Russian oil prices in December 2022. The restrictions do not allow companies from countries that have joined the restrictions to provide transport, insurance and financial services for Russian oil and oil products if they are sold at a price above the established limit of $60 per barrel.

In response, RUSSIA refused to supply its oil to countries that joined the price ceiling and redirected supplies to friendly countries. According to Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak, in 2023, friendly countries accounted for more than 80% of supplies. In total, the Deputy Prime Minister reported, oil exports from Russia in 2023 amounted to 234.3 million tons, which is 3.3% less than a year earlier.