Russia renames some oil tankers under US sanctions - Bloomberg

The Russian company Sovcomflot has renamed some of its oil tankers after they were subjected to US sanctions.

According to Ukrinform, this was reported by Bloomberg.

According to the agency, at least four tankers have now changed their names, as well as the Russian flag to Gabon: Kemerovo instead of NS Columbus, Belgorod instead of NS Bravo, Kaliningrad instead of NS Captain, and Krasnoyarsk instead of NS Creation.

Oil tankers often change their names after sanctions are imposed to distance themselves from the listings in sanctions databases, although they can still be identified by their unique and unchanged numbers registered with the International Maritime Organization.

It is noted that Russia relies heavily on Sovcomflot's giant tanker fleet to transport its oil.

According to a division of the world's largest ship broker Clarkson Research Services Ltd., the Russian company remains the world's largest owner of Aframax tankers, each capable of carrying about 700,000 barrels of oil.

Sovcomflot came under US sanctions in February. Fourteen of its tankers were also added to the list of the US Treasury Department, bringing the total number of vessels on the sanctions list to 21.

As Ukrinform previously reported, the Swedish Foreign Ministry said that Russia could create an environmental disaster by transporting outdated oil tankers across the Baltic Sea and called for new rules and mechanisms to prevent this.

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