The European Union and Great Britain, due to fears of a global energy crisis, have decided to postpone the introduction of a complete ban on insurance of sea transportation of Russian oil, the newspaper writes. The Financial Times on Sunday, July 31st.
London and Brussels agreed in May that they would completely ban insurance for Russian oil transported by sea, the publication points out. The UK, home to the largest insurance market, Lloyd’s of London, decided to postpone the total ban and at the end of July banned only tankers carrying Russian oil to the kingdom from being insured. The restrictions will take effect after December 31, and companies will be allowed to insure oil shipped by sea to third countries, the Lloyd’s Market Association confirmed to FT.
The EU made an exception to the sanctions
The ban on tanker insurance introduced by the European Union on June 4 remains in force, but it has been amended, writes the FT. European companies are still not allowed to take out new insurance for tankers carrying Russian oil anywhere, and existing contracts will continue to operate until December 5th.
However, at the end of July, the European Union eased restrictions, allowing its insurers to work with some Russian state-owned companies, among which the FT names “Rosneft”. Companies have the right to pay for such shipments “if these transactions are strictly necessary,” and the oil and oil products transported are destined for third countries outside the EU, the European Commission told the FT. The EU statement said the measures were taken to “avoid any potential negative impact on food and energy security around the world.”
The West does not abandon plans to ban insurance of tankers with oil from the Russian Federation
A joint UK-EU ban on shipping insurance for Russian oil would be the “most comprehensive restriction” on Russian oil products and would cut off Moscow’s access to much of the world’s tanker fleet, the FT said.
At the same time, such a measure would probably lead to an increase in world oil prices due to the loss of millions of barrels from Russia from the market, the newspaper notes. Such concerns, in particular, were expressed by the newspaper’s sources in the White House.
The FT’s interlocutors in UK and US government circles said the countries are still planning to ban the shipping of Russian oil by the time EU restrictions come into effect in December. However, before doing so, Washington expects to achieve the introduction price ceiling on Russian oil in order to reduce fuel tariffs on the domestic market.
“We are ready to impose further sanctions on Russia and are working with our allies to ensure that they can be implemented with maximum effect on the Russian economy,” the UK Treasury told the FT.
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Author: Irina Filatova, Vitaly Kropman
