Articles by Rakesh Sharma, Grant Smith and Julian Lee

Russia’s Oil Is Finally Getting Snarled by Sanctions

The Russian oil-export machine funding the Kremlin’s war in Ukraine is finally getting some grit in its gears. Indian oil refiners — Moscow’s second-biggest customers after China since the 2022 invasion — will no longer accept tankers owned by state-run …

Update: Tankers Tied to the Russian Oil Trade Grind to Halt Following US Sanctions

A chunk of the vast fleet of tankers that Russia uses to deliver its crude oil is grinding to a halt under the weight of US sanctions, a sign that tougher measures by western regulators might be starting to have …

Russia Oil Tankers Are Doing Strange Things Since Ramp Up of US Sanctions

There are growing signs that Russia’s oil flows might be facing disruption in the aftermath of a ramp up in US sanctions targeting traders and shipping companies moving the nation’s petroleum. Over the past month or so, a total of …

Ukraine’s Drone Attack Hasn’t Yet Jolted Insurance Costs for Black Sea Oil Carriers

A drone attack on a Russian oil tanker and a warning from Kyiv that more could follow has so far had little impact on insurance costs for oil and commodity carriers in the key Black Sea region, as rates were …

Russia-Linked Oil Tanker Fleet Vanishes Even Faster Than It Grew

A fleet of tankers that sprouted up out of nowhere to keep Russia’s oil moving has disbanded even faster than it emerged, underscoring the challenges involved in keeping track of who’s helping Moscow to get its petroleum to buyers around …

Tanker Company Shipping Russian Oil Loses Insurance on G-7 Price Cap

An oil tanker company heavily involved in moving Russian oil lost industry standard insurance for its fleet after falling foul of a Group of Seven price cap relating to the transportation of the nation’s barrels. Gatik Ship Management lost so-called …

EU’s Russia Oil Sanctions, Effective in December, Are Already Hitting Nation’s Trade

European Union sanctions on Russian oil might still be eight weeks away, but they’re hitting trade in the nation’s crude already. The bloc’s measures, including a ban on insuring tanker shipments, enter into force on Dec. 5. A Russian cargo …

Russia Finds New Route to Get Oil to Market Via Tiny Egyptian Port

Russia appears to have found a new means of getting its oil to market with western sanctions looming for Moscow. A cargo of about 700,000 barrels of Russian oil was delivered to Egypt’s El Hamra oil terminal on its Mediterranean …

Aging Oil-Storage Ships Pose Safety, Environmental Risks Around the World

The decades-old, oil-storage ship that blew up off the coast of Nigeria recently — killing some of its crew and spewing its contents into the Atlantic Ocean — is one of many vessels of similar vintage dotted across the globe. …

Oil Tankers Cut Navigation Risks in Strait of Hormuz by Vanishing from Tracking Systems

Oil tanker owners are finding a way to reduce the risks of navigating the Strait of Hormuz, the world’s most important — and lately most dangerous — energy chokepoint: vanish from global tracking systems. Copying from Iran’s own playbook, at …