ISTANBUL (Realist English). After the introduction of the oil price caps for Russian crude, a traffic jam of oil tankers formed in Turkey. This was reported by the British Financial Times.
Four oil industry executives informed the Financial Times that Ankara has demanded new evidence of full insurance coverage for ships crossing the Bosphorus and Dardanelles Straits. Now only tankers carrying oil purchased at $60 per barrel or lower can access insurance and financial services.
On December 5, the oil price caps for Russian crude, agreed upon by the EU, G7 and Australia, came into force. The measure is aimed at limiting Russia’s hydrocarbon revenues.
The G7 countries (Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Britain and the United States) provide insurance services for 90% of the world’s cargo, and the EU is a major player in maritime transportation, which gives the association the opportunity to shift restrictions onto most Russia’s customers around the world.
According to the Financial Times, on December 5, about 19 tankers with crude oil were waiting to cross the Turkish waters. Ankara is looking for evidence from tankers that their insurance is valid to cover incidents such as oil spills and collisions.
