It's even more fun - those who do buy it cannot find tankers to transport it. Saw in the news that some Indian oil co. is having serious problems trying to find a tanker to get the oil they bought to India.
I saw it reported in Al Jizz. India struggles to find vessel to ship crude from Russia Shippers are concerned over reputational risk and increasing difficulty in getting insurance for Russian assets. https://www.aljazeera.com/economy/2022/4/27/india-struggles-to-find-vessel-to-ship-crude-from-russia
It already has been reported that any ship - tankers included - that is insured by London Marine Insurers Market - (which is basically all of them) will have to pay 3% to 5% extra premium if they enter Russian territorial waters. That's 3% to 5% of the cost of the ship itself and the cargo.
That’s the thing about being an energy exporter, you need to be reliable. There’s three fires a day magically happening at Russian gas and oil depots and transfer stations, it’s in the middle of a war and facing very tough sanctions- not exactly a recipe for reliability and insurability.
Yep. One of the things that understates the impact of sanctions in the short run is that so many suppliers/shippers have contracts that they cannot get out of or pass cost increases along to customers in their current contract. They fear the sanctions and public wrath but the lawyers are to be feared too. But over time there will be a lottttt of contracts not renewed. I read many comments along this line the other day when the head of Maersk was 'splaining why they were still shipping in some areas. They want to meet commitments to current customer contracts, then they want out when they can get out. His rap anyway.