U.S. Imposes Sanctions On Three Tankers And Their Owners For Shipping Russian Oil Above Price Cap

The sanctions target three entities and three oil tankers that the U.S. Treasury Department said carried Russian Urals crude above $70 per barrel, which exceeds the price cap by $10. (file photo)

The United States on December 1 imposed additional sanctions related to the price cap on Russian oil agreed by the Group of Seven (G7) leading industrialized nations, the European Union, and Australia to curtail Russia’s revenue from seaborne oil shipments.

The sanctions target three entities and three oil tankers that the U.S. Treasury Department said carried Russian Urals crude above $70 per barrel, which exceeds the price cap by $10.

The department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) said the three vessels and the three entities shipped the oil using Western maritime services, such as transportation, insurance, and financing.

The G7 countries -- Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, and the United States -- set the $60 price cap on seaborne exports of Russian crude last December, and the European Union and Australia later agreed to join the mechanism, which bans Western companies from providing the services for oil sold above the cap.

The mechanism is designed to maintain a reliable supply of crude oil to the global market while reducing the revenues that Russia earns from oil, which it in turn uses to fund its war in Ukraine.

OFAC's action announced on December 1 is the third time in as many months that it has imposed sanctions against ships and their owners for carrying Russian oil priced above the cap.

Two companies based in the United Arab Emirates -- Sterling Shipping and Streymoy Shipping Limited -- are named by OFAC as the registered owners of two of the tankers designated. The other ship is registered to HS Atlantica Ltd based in Liberia.

The ships are blocked under the sanctions, while all property held by their registered owners in the United States is blocked and people in the United States and its jurisdictions are blocked from dealing with them.

"Enforcement of the price cap on Russian oil is a top priority for the United States and our Coalition partners," Treasury Deputy Secretary Wally Adeyemo said in the statement.

"By targeting these companies and their ships, we are upholding the dual goals of the price cap by restricting Russia’s profits from oil while promoting stable global energy markets."

The Treasury Department also issued a general license through February 29 authorizing limited safety and environmental transactions involving the targeted entities and vessels, including transactions necessary for their safe docking and anchoring.

With reporting by Reuters