I was recently quoted in TradeWinds on the growing number of tankers going dark as the EU considers expanding restrictions on maritime services connected to Russia’s oil trade.
It now looks increasingly certain that the EU, and likely the UK, will move to a comprehensive maritime services ban on the carriage of Russian crude oil to third countries. This would represent a significant shift in policy, going further than the previous price-cap regime by banning Western companies from providing shipping, insurance and other maritime support services tied to Russian crude oil exports.
Rather than gradually lowering the oil price cap, EU leaders appear to have concluded that controlling Russia’s oil revenues through comprehensive restrictions on maritime services is necessary to squeeze state profits. These steps would build on measures taken by the UK and U.S. last year to target the four largest producers of Russian oil.
If introduced, the impact of these measures remains to be seen. A key risk associated with a full services ban is that it could lead to further proliferation of the parallel fleet, which has already become a source of considerable international concern.
As the EU and other jurisdictions look to change their approach, maritime stakeholders should reassess both compliance processes and contractual risk allocation.