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Convoy of sanctioned Russian tankers on one of the most northerly commercial shipping routes ever attempted in the Arctic
Russia has dispatched an unprecedented convoy of sanctioned oil tankers to within 500 nautical miles of the North Pole, sending the fleet onto one of the most northerly commercial shipping routes ever attempted in the Arctic, including the 'Dinasty', 'Viktor Bakaev', 'Vostochny Prospect', 'Liteyny Prospect', 'Jagger' and 'Ligovsky Prospect'. The fleet had assembled in the Kara Sea over the past several weeks. Satellite images caught part of the fleet heading northwards on Aug 5, 2026. The fleet was transporting crude oil from Arctic export terminals toward Asian buyers as Russia continued to make growing use of the Northern Sea Route during the summer navigation season to shorten voyages and reduce reliance on contested global shipping hotspots such as the Black Sea. Russia has steadily expanded eastbound Arctic crude exports in recent years as it redirects energy shipments towards Asia following sanctions imposed after the invasion of Ukraine. At the fleet’s current position, only four vessels were operating farther north, the Swedish icebreaker 'Oden', China’s polar icebreaker 'Xue Long', Norway’s research icebreaker 'Kronprins Haakon', and the ice-class expedition vessel 'Virgo'. The routing places Russia’s Arctic oil fleet among the northernmost commercial vessels ever recorded. The route passes north of 81 degrees north, roughly 10 degrees farther north than Utqiagvik, Alaska, which sits at about 71 degrees north latitude. The unusually northerly routing reflected the uneven sea ice conditions. While ice concentrations north of Severnaya Zemlya and across much of the Laptev Sea have already opened up, more difficult ice has persisted in the Vilkitsky Strait, prompting authorities to direct commercial traffic around the northern side of the archipelago instead. Farther east, however, the voyage remained challenging. Significant sea ice continued to cover parts of the East Siberian Sea. Three Russian nuclear icebreakers were currently deployed to escort commercial shipping along the Northern Sea Route. The difficulties became apparent, when the tanker 'Aria' reversed course in the East Siberian Sea on July 31, possibly prompted by heavy ice conditions ahead.
14 Sovcomflot tankers pinned by USA
The USA have pinned 14 of Sovcomflot's tankers, the 'Anatoly Kolodkin' NS Antarctic', 'NS Lion', 'Ns Consul', 'Ns Burgas', Ns Captain' 'NS Columbus', 'Sakhalin Island', 'Nevskiy Prospect', 'Georgy Maslov', 'Liteyny Prospect', 'Krymsk' 'Ns Creation' and 'Ns Bravo', giving the Russian shipping company 45 days to unload oil and other cargo. The company is being prosecuted for violating the crude price cap in force since December 2022. This battalion of clandestine ships, owned by companies with opaque ownership to conceal illicit operations, has been in the crosshairs of the Western coalition for many months with widely documented practices such as STS oil transfer operations and deactivation of AIS, with the fleet constantly expanding. The Office of Foreign Asset Control of the Treasury (OFAC) has designated the 14 tankers in which Sovcomflot has an interest, and in particular 12 of the 75 vessels operated by the Oil Tankers SCF Management FZCO, a company which had to inherit part of of the SCF fleet when the latter was forced to sell or disperse to companies abroad following international sanctions. The first inclusion of SCF on the international sanctions list (United Kingdom, European Union, Australia, Canada, New Zealand, etc.) dates back to 2022 and concerned financial transactions involving long-term debt or new shares. The company has 45 days to unload oil and other cargo, but OFAC has not banned transactions for its other tankers and has even made it clear to oil traders that they can continue to use the large majority of the Russian carrier's fleet without repercussions, which claims 147 ships. Capping the price of oil, which consists of applying a discount per barrel of crude compared to the market price but without harming the stability of international markets, aims to limit the resources that Russia earns from the sale of hydrocarbons. Russia sold its oil in January at a discount of $19 per barrel compared to Brent (international benchmark) compared to $12 to $13 per barrel in October. With a barrel at this price, Russia therefore received 75% of the oil revenue it should have received, or 25% less. At the same time, Russian military spending has increased by 60%, leading many observers to say that the system is ineffective, due to a lack of monitoring and control means. 196 tankers, identified as belonging to the clandestine fleet, had left Russian ports in December 2023. Five new shipping companies based in the United Arab Emirates have started to transport Russian crude since November 2023. The US Treasury has sanctioned 27 oil companies for violating the price cap since October, when the cap was implemented.
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