Reuters reports that approximately 300 oil tankers have been excluded form the shipping market because the shipping sector is afraid of breaching the US sanctions against Iran and Venezuela, even by accident.
Specifically, according to data of Refinitiv Eikon, the 3% of the worldwide oil tanker fleet is out of the shipping market resulting to rates soaring to secure tankers to ship oil, particularly to Asia.
The 3% will have an impact of the total gross tonnage insured each year by Clubs within the International Group.
Moreover, Unipec, Swiss trader Trafigura AG, oil firm Equinor ASA, and Exxon Mobil Corp have stopped cooperating with 250 crude and oil products tankers that were transferring Venezuelan oil the past year.
Concerning the US sanctions, on September 25, the U.S. imposed sanctions on COSCO Shipping Tanker (Dalian), along with China Concord Petroleum Co., Limited, Kunlun Shipping Company Limited, Pegasus 88 Limited, and COSCO Shipping Tanker (Dalian) Seaman & Ship Management Co, Ltd as well as the Chinese companies Kunlun Holding Company Ltd. and COSCO Shipping Tanker (Dalian) Co., Ltd., for knowingly engaging in a significant transaction for the transport of oil from Iran, not complying with the according sanctions set in November 2018.
