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Turkey confirmed on Dec. 7 that Ankara had begun requiring proof of insurance on tankers carrying Russian crude after Western powers imposed price caps on Russian crude to punish Russia for its war in Ukraine, but i officials denied it was slowing tanker traffic.
The European Union and the Group of Seven industrialized countries agreed last week to ban Western insurers from covering tankers carrying Russian crude that sells for more than $60 a barrel. The sanctions aim to deprive Russia of one of its main sources of income and Australia is joining the effort.
According to tanker industry monitoring website TankerTracker.com on the morning of the 7th, the volume of maritime exports of Russian crude has halved in the past 48 hours.
A source told AFP Turkish officials have been demanding proof of insurance from tankers sailing from Russia to global markets via the Bosphorus and Dardanelles since earlier this month.
An official source, speaking on condition of anonymity, told AFP Turkish authorities were doing it “to make sure (the tankers) are insured” as Western insurers have started to cancel cover.
An unidentified Turkish official told state-run Anadolu News Agency that “most international insurance companies” no longer cover Russian crude oil and that “if an accident occurs in these straits, whoever is responsible could be worth billions of dollars”. ”?
However, the official denied Western media reports suggesting that new Turkish rules had caused tankers to block the two straits. The official said there had been no “significant” changes in shipping traffic and that Ankara could do more to “prevent congestion”.
