The US Treasury has added 17 Liberian-flagged bulk carriers and oil tankers to the Russian blacklist for alleged violations related to Western-imposed price caps on Russian oil, the Treasury said in a statement.
According to the document, the sanctions list also includes the shipping company Hennesea Holdings Limited from Abu Dhabi (UAE).
“Today’s actions once again demonstrate that anyone who violates the price cap will face the consequences,” said Deputy Secretary of the Treasury Wally Adeyemo. “No one should doubt our coalition’s commitment to stopping those who help the Kremlin.” According to a version of the US authorities, Hennesea Holdings owns vessels that allegedly were “engaged in the transport of crude oil of Russian Federation origin priced above the $60 per barrel price cap.” As “Tankers ultimately owned by Hennesea have repeatedly conducted port calls in Russian Federation ports,” the US Treasury claims.
Price cap on Russian oil
On December 5, 2022, the European Union embargo on seaborne oil supplies from Russia came into force. G7 countries, the EU and Australia introduced a price cap on seaborne Russian oil at $60 per barrel for their subordinate ships and territories.
From February 5, 2023, similar restrictions began to apply to the supply of petroleum products from Russia. The maximum cost was set at $100 and $45 per barrel, depending on the category of petroleum products. Changes to these restrictions require agreement from all EU states and G7 members.
As Deputy Prime Minister of Russia Alexander Novak announced on October 13, 2022, Moscow will not supply oil to countries that are artificially trying to limit the cost of this product through the use of a price cap.
