Reports: Dozens of oil tankers are stuck in Turkey amid the repercussions of the Russian price ceiling

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Bloomberg reported Thursday that millions of barrels of oil on tankers that appear not to be Russian are stuck in Turkish waters due to Ankara’s demands for proof of insurance as part of a western cap on Russian crude prices.

Shipping data compiled by the news agency showed that 26 tankers carrying more than 23 million barrels of oil from Kazakhstan were unable to cross Turkey’s Bosphorus and Dardanelles straits as of Wednesday.

Turkey began requiring proof of insurance from tankers loaded with Russian crude this week after the European Union, the Group of Seven and Australia imposed a price cap of $60 a barrel to punish the Kremlin for its war on Ukraine.

But Bloomberg reported that Turkey’s rules apply to any tanker carrying cargo on board, regardless of the country of origin.

“This letter we have requested is only to confirm that the ship’s insurance is valid while it is in transit [the Turkish] It quoted the Turkish Ministry of Transport as saying.

US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen told reporters on Thursday that the Biden administration sees no reason to subject oil shipments from Kazakhstan to new procedures.

Yellen added in comments reported by Reuters that the Biden administration had no reason to believe that the Kremlin was involved in Turkey’s decision to block transit.

Meanwhile, Kazakhstan’s state oil and gas giant, KazMunayGas, said it is working with insurance companies to address Turkey’s concerns and release about 10 Kazakh oil tankers.

Bloomberg said that the Turkish Ministry of Transportation has identified the number of stranded oil tankers at 15, 11 of which were destined for the European Union.

The Kremlin said it would not recognize Western price ceilings and was working on response measures.

The 1936 treaty guarantees freedom of navigation for merchant ships passing through the Bosphorus and Dardanelles Straits in Turkey.

But it also gives Turkey the right to regulate security – a condition it is now using to ensure oil ships are insured against spills and other incidents.

Industry watcher TankerTracker.com said early Wednesday that Russian seaborne crude oil exports have halved in the past 48 hours.

The Financial Times reported on Tuesday that Russia has assembled a separate “shadow fleet” of more than 100 ships in an attempt to circumvent the Western sanctions regime.

These ships are reportedly using non-Western insurance companies and selling oil at higher prices to countries that have not subscribed to the new sanctions.

The Financial Times, citing an unnamed figure in the oil industry, said Turkey was waving through these vessels but was holding on to vessels with Western insurance coverage.

AFP contributed to the report.

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