Greek Oil Tanker Owners Avoiding Russia After Treasury Letters
- Crude shipments on Greek tankers has fallen by a quarter
- Letters from the US Treasury have spooked Greek tanker owners
Oil tankers off the shore of Karystos, Greece.
Photographer: Angelos Tzortzinis/AFP/Getty ImagesThis article is for subscribers only.
Oil tanker owners in Greece, the world’s most powerful shipowning nation, scaled back how much Russian crude they’re hauling, a decision that could ultimately disrupt the flow of Moscow’s petroleum.
The number of Greek-owned tankers going to Russia will fall by a quarter this month compared with last, and is down 60% from June, ship tracking data compiled by Bloomberg show. That may well alarm officials in the Kremlin because the country still needs assistance from foreign vessel operators to get all its barrels to the global market.