Tanker owners in Europe shipping large quantities of Russian crude

While Asian countries are being chided for purchasing Russian oil, tanker owners in Europe are shipping as much Russian crude as possible before ‘energy sanctions’ against Moscow take effect in December.
Since February 24, Western nations have pledged to wean themselves off crude from Moscow and looming sanctions have raised fears among European processors and shipowners of being blacklisted for handling the fuel, according to a report in The Wall Street Journal.
But China nearly doubled its Russian crude intake to an average of 1.13 million barrels a day in June, from 670,000 barrels a day in February, according to energy data provider Vortexa. India brought in roughly one million barrels a day last month.

“Greek companies transported almost half of the volume of Russian oil in May and June,” according to WSJ. According to Lloyd's List Intelligence, during these two months, ships from Greece called at Russian ports 151 times compared to 89 in the same period in 2021.

“No one can say what will happen to the tanker market after the entry into force of sanctions, but as a result it can have a positive impact, as the demand for oil is still high, and ships will probably have to carry it from more distant places,” WSJ reported quoting executive director of one of the Greek shipping companies. He believes tankers will travel longer distances, earning more money as a result.

In an interview with Le Figaro, energy expert Jean-Pierre Favennec expressed the opinion that the embargo on oil supplies from Russia would change the global energy market. According to him, Russia will continue to export oil, but not to Europe.