Oil Shipping Rates Surge After US Sanctions Hit Availability

SINGAPORE, Jan 14 (Reuters) – Supertanker freight rates jumped after the U.S. expanded sanctions on Russia’s oil industry, sending traders rushing to book vessels to ship supply from other countries to China and India, shipbrokers and traders said.

Chinese and Indian refiners are seeking alternative fuel supplies as they adapt to severe new U.S. sanctions on Russian producers and tankers designed to curb the world No. 2 oil exporter’s revenue due to its war in Ukraine.

Many of the newly-targeted vessels, part of a so-called shadow fleet that seeks to avoid Western restrictions, have been used to ship oil to India and China, which snapped up cheap Russian supply that was banned in Europe following Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine. Some of the tankers have also shipped oil from Iran, which is under sanctions as well.

The latest U.S. action means an estimated 35% of some 669 shadow fleet tankers involved in shipping Russian, Venezuelan and Iranian oil have been hit with sanctions by either the U.S., Britain or European Union, according to analysis by Lloyd’s List Int…