Russian Oil Loading Suspended Amid New FSB Approval Rules

After Russian President Vladimir Putin granted the Federal Security Service (FSB) the right to approve the entry of ships into Black Sea ports, the shipment of Russian oil to tankers there practically stopped.

The Gaze reports on this with reference to Ekonomichna Pravda, citing Reuters.

On Monday, Putin signed a law introducing new rules for foreign ships to access Russian ports: from now on, permission must be granted only after approval by the FSB. The rules came into force immediately after the document was published.

According to Reuters estimates, blocking foreign ships from accessing ports, which also affected Russian oil exports from Novorossiysk, could affect more than 2% of global oil supplies.

Exports of the Caspian Pipeline Consortium (CPC) Blend crude oil from the Russian terminal in August are planned at 1.66 million barrels per day, or about 6.5 million metric tons, practically unchanged from July figures. According to sources, oil exports and transit through Novorossiysk in July are expected to reach approximately 2.2 million tons.

As The Gaze previously reported, the U.S. Energy Secretary Chris Wright emphasized that sanctioning Russian oil exports is a powerful strategy to pressure Russia and help end the war in Ukraine, highlighting it as a real possibility amid talks of tough penalties and tariffs.