China refused to accept tankers with Russian oil after the introduction of new US sanctions

Three tankers with more than two million barrels of Russian oil were stranded in waters off China’s east coast. Their entry to the ports is impossible due to new US sanctions, Bloomberg reports.

The tanker “Huihai Pacific” was supposed to arrive at the port of Dongjiakou in China’s Shandong province on January 15. The vessel was loaded with about 770,000 barrels of ESPO oil in the Russian port of Kozmino at the beginning of the month. However, the tanker changed course over the weekend and is currently on the high seas, remaining loaded with oil.

This tanker, like many others, became the object of a tough package of sanctions aimed at limiting the export of Russian oil from the beginning of the invasion of Ukraine in 2022. The sanctions hit several tankers and at least one trader that specializes in trading ESPO oil, popular among China’s independent refiners.

Another tanker, the Mermar, left the port of Cozmino on January 5 with more than 755,000 barrels of oil and was due to arrive at the port of Yantai this week, but is now near the coast. Also, the tanker “Oli”, which left a Russian port on January 7 with 709,000 barrels of ESPO, planned to reach the port of Yantai, but is currently in the Yellow Sea.