Russian Crude Oil Piles Up Near Chinese Coast After US Sanctions
- Almost 4 millon barrels of ESPO, Sokol stuck on idling tankers
- Shandong ports hesitant to take cargoes despite grace period
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The amount of oil stranded off the Chinese coast is growing as traders, refiners and shipping companies try to avoid being caught up in the US’s strictest-ever sanctions on Russian energy flows.
Five tankers carrying almost 4 million barrels of ESPO and Sokol crude from the Russian Far East that should have delivered their cargoes by now are idling in Chinese waters, according to ship-tracking data from Bloomberg and Kpler. Four of those vessels were sanctioned by the US.