Partners of Russian oil companies are drastically increasing the rates for the transportation of Russian oil – the rate of transport companies has increased by almost 50% and reached $20 per barrel. We are talking about oil deliveries with shipment from Russian ports with a delivery date after December 5 – it is from this moment that the mechanism of marginal prices for Russian oil, which is promoted by the Western coalition, is supposed to work. New problems with the export of Russian oil are reported by Bloomberg, citing brokers involved in sea transportation.
Ship owners began to demand from Russian companies "additional payment for the risk." If earlier the supply of a tanker from the Baltic Sea to India fluctuated in the range of $9–11.5 million ($12–15.33 per barrel of oil), now ship owners demand $15 million ($20 per barrel). The average increase in the supply tariff thus increased by more than 48%.
The increase in rates is associated with sanctions pressure: Greece, as well as Cyprus and Malta, the owners of the largest merchant fleets, are likely to stop serving Russian companies from December 5 due to sanctions. The reduction in ships available for export creates additional pressure on the market: it becomes more difficult for Russian companies to look for partners for oil exports. Moreover, there are fewer and fewer large vessels, and shipment is mainly carried out with the help of small and medium-sized vessels, such as Aframax and Suezmax tankers . Deliveries of vessels to Asian markets instead of the usual European ones did not have a positive effect on prices and became only an additional reason to raise freight prices.
The way out of the situation, as the agency notes, could be a "secret tanker fleet" – a vessel whose ultimate owners are unknown and extremely difficult to find out due to registration in dubious jurisdictions. These vessels have been working with sanctions regimes for a long time and are not afraid of them, however, these volumes are unlikely to be enough to fully replace the transport capacities that are falling out of the market. However, there are more tankers on the market that previously worked with oil products, as the benefits from transporting sanctioned oil have grown significantly. Some ship owners intend to reorient their tankers to supply crude oil, the agency said.
In the coming days, the European Union, Australia and the G7 countries will approve new sanctions on Russian oil. The countries intend to approve the price ceiling for Russian oil. At the moment, the level of $60 per barrel is being discussed: when delivering oil at a price higher than this level, it is forbidden to provide any services to Russian companies (we are talking about the provision of tankers, financial, insurance and other services). However, if the contract price is lower, even European companies can provide services. Moreover, from February 5, similar bans are expected to be introduced with respect to Russian oil products.
