Yuri Kobzar21:02, 07.01.25

Tankers subject to US sanctions have been banned from entering major Chinese ports.

Chinese port operator Shandong Port Group has closed its ports to tankers of the Russian “shadow fleet” that are under US sanctions, Reuters reports, citing its own sources among oil traders.

Shandong Port Group controls major ports on China’s east coast, including Qingdao, Rizhao and Yantai, which are key terminals for importing sanctioned oil.

In particular, Shandong Province is a major route for oil imports from Russia, Venezuela and Iran. Last year, the province imported about 17% of all oil imported into China. As Reuters notes, Shandong is home to many independent refineries, which are the largest importers of oil from such troubled countries.

Traders say the ban will increase the cost of shipping Russian oil to independent refiners in Shandong. But the effect will be limited for now, with the ban only affecting “shadow fleet” tankers that have been hit by U.S. sanctions. Unfortunately, most of that fleet has so far avoided sanctions.

Michelle Wiese Bockmann, chief analyst at Lloyd’s List Intelligence’s marine data group, says the active shadow fleet that transports Iranian, Russian and Venezuelan oil currently numbers about 669 tankers. Of these, she says, only 250-300 were transporting Russian oil. Russia’s Sovcomflot also carries Russian oil in its own tankers

Between October and December, the US Treasury Department imposed sanctions on 35 “shadow fleet” tankers. And Sovcomflot was hit with US sanctions in early 2024.

However, sources told Reuters this week that the Biden administration plans to impose sanctions on more than 100 more tankers that carry Russian oil.

(C)UNIAN 2025