Western Officials Blame Disruption of Oil Supplies Via Black Sea on Turkey - Reports

MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 08th December, 2022) Turkey is to blame for disrupting crude oil shipments across the Black Sea, unnamed Western officials told the Financial Times in a report published on Thursday, noting that there was no reason to block ship traffic.

According to the officials, the ships, most of which carry oil from Kazakhstan, should be allowed to pass, the report read.

"It appears that all but one of the roughly 20 loaded crude tankers waiting to cross the straits are carrying Kazakh-origin oil. These cargoes would not be subject to the price cap under any scenario, and there should be no change in the status of their insurance from Kazakh shipments in previous weeks or months," an unnamed Western official involved in the price cap told the newspaper.

The official noted that the crude oil supply disruptions were not the result of the price ceiling, but a consequence of Ankara's decisions.

On Wednesday, US Deputy Secretary Wally Adeyemo during his conversation with Turkish Deputy Foreign Minister Sedat Onal pointed out that the oil price cap regime did not require additional checks on ships passing through Turkish waters and only applied to oil of Russian origin.

On December 1, Turkey started requiring from oil shippers crossing the Bosphorus Strait and the Dardanelles a letter from an insurer confirming that the vessel is covered by the necessary Protection and Indemnity Insurance.

On Tuesday, the Financial Times reported that a traffic jam of oil tankers had formed off the Turkish coast after Western countries launched a price ceiling targeting Russian oil and Turkey demanded the provision of insurance data.

According to the MarineTraffic global maritime navigation service, there are about 30 tankers, mostly Turkish, off the Turkish coast near the strait, five of them Russian.