Russia is facing mounting challenges in exporting its crude oil as tighter Western sanctions enforcement and repeated Ukrainian drone strikes on domestic refineries continue to disrupt the country's energy logistics, Bloomberg reports.
Citing vessel-tracking data, the report said at least 10 tankers carrying Russian crude are currently anchored while awaiting onward shipment. Five vessels are stationed near the Mersa El Hamra oil terminal on Egypt's Mediterranean coast, while another five are anchored off Indonesia's Riau Islands, east of Singapore, where ships associated with Russia's "shadow fleet" have accumulated.
The congestion has also spread to Russia's Far Eastern export hubs. Cargoes of Sokol and Sakhalin Blend crude are reportedly facing delays of several weeks before they can be transferred from shuttle tankers to ocean-going vessels. Similar bottlenecks have emerged for some ESPO crude shipments, which have been piling up near the Kozmino export terminal.
As a result, the volume of Russian crude stored aboard tankers at sea has risen to approximately 135 million barrels as of July 12, highlighting the growing impact of sanctions-related shipping constraints on Moscow's oil exports.
Russia is increasingly struggling to move all of the crude it is being forced to export overseas after Ukrainian drone attacks disrupted operations at domestic refineries, reducing the country's ability to process oil internally.
Despite the logistical challenges, Russia's seaborne crude exports have remained broadly resilient. According to tanker-movement data, the four-week average of seaborne crude shipments stood at 4.21 million barrels per day in the period ending July 12, virtually unchanged from the previous reporting period and just 10,000 barrels per day below the highest level recorded since Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
Before the invasion, roughly 600,000 barrels of Russian crude per day were transported via pipelines to refineries across Europe, a trade route that has since been largely severed by Western sanctions.
By Vafa Guliyeva
Source: caliber.az
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