Articles
252 tankers exported crude oil and petroleum products from Russian Black Sea ports in April 2023: The database
30 April 2023
The Monitoring Group of the Black Sea Institute of Strategic Studies and BlackSeaNews, based on the results of its own monitoring, presents a database of seaborne exports of crude oil and petroleum products from Russian ports on the Black and Azov Seas in April 2023. In total, in April 2023, 252 tankers exported oil and petroleum products from Russian ports (excluding exports to Bulgaria and Romania). They transported a total of about 16.4 million tons of cargo.
Violations of the embargo on the imports of crude oil from Russia into the EU in April 2023 (database)
30 April 2023
In April 2023, 6 violations of the EU embargo on seaborne imports of Russian crude oil from the Black Sea were recorded. All of them involved the delivery of oil to a transshipment point in the Laconian Gulf off the coast of Greece. 4 such voyages were made by tankers belonging to companies from Greece, shipowners from Turkey and UAE performed 1 voyage each. A total of 801,594 tons of Russian crude oil were delivered to the transshipment point in the Laconian Gulf in violation of the embargo, compared with 476,449 tons in March 2023 and 975,520 tons in February 2023.
In April 2023, 54 Tankers exported Kazakh Oil from the Russian Black Sea Port of Novorossiysk (Database)
30 April 2023
In April 2023, a total of 54 tankers exported CPC oil from the Russian port of Novorossiysk, excluding the exports to Bulgaria and Romania. Together they exported a total of about 7.6 million tons of oil, including 4.1 million tons to the EU and 3.5 million tons to other countries.
The violations of the EU and G7 embargo on seaborne exports of Russian petroleum products from the Black Sea in February-March 2023
26 April 2023
In March 2023, the exports of Russian petroleum products from Black Sea ports to EU and G7 countries amounted to 737,856 tons, although they should have stopped completely. 11 embargo-violating tankers were recorded in February 2023 and 17 ones – in March. In March 2023, the destinations of these tankers were not only EU countries but also the USA, including direct deliveries to the port of Wilmington, North Carolina, the USA, and the port of Rouen, France. The rest of the destinations were transhipment areas off the coast of Greece and Malta. 17 out of 28 embargo-violating tankers, or 60.7%, belong to shipowners from EU countries.
Strategic partners of Ukraine: The southern flank in the mirrors of the national media. Azerbaijan – Ukraine (1)
17 April 2023
According to the position paper of the National Institute for Strategic Studies, “Strategic partnership is a type of interstate relations, built as a consistent system of interaction between states towards fulfilling common strategic tasks and pursuing common strategic interests and goals. Unlike alliance relations, strategic partnership does not involve a rigid system of political, economic, humanitarian, or security obligations.”
Russian Black Sea Crude Oil Exports Set a Record in March 2023
09 April 2023
In March 2023, Russia's crude oil exports from the Black Sea ports set a record of 5,565,874 tons, which is significantly higher than in any previous month since April 2022. The record 2.7 times growth has been driven by exports to countries other than the EU, the G7 and the rest that supported the oil embargo. Russia clearly is not planning to reduce either oil production or its exports, thus, all Russian statements about the alleged production drop are likely just a manipulation aimed at pushing up the world oil prices. The policy seems to be coordinated with OPEC+. There is no shortage of tankers for these exports.
Violations of the embargo on seaborne imports of Russian petroleum products from Black Sea ports into the EU in March 2023 (database)
31 March 2023
In March 2023, 18 violations of the EU embargo on seaborne imports of Russian petroleum products (excluding crude oil) from the Black Sea were recorded. 2 direct voyages with petroleum products from Russian ports to the ports of EU countries and 1 voyage to USA were made. The remaining 15 violations involved the delivery of petroleum products to a transshipment point in the Laconian Gulf off the coast of Greece.
245 tankers exported crude oil and petroleum products from Russian Black Sea ports in March 2023: The database
31 March 2023
The Monitoring Group of the Black Sea Institute of Strategic Studies and BlackSeaNews, based on the results of its own monitoring, presents a database of seaborne exports of crude oil and petroleum products from Russian ports on the Black and Azov Seas in March 2023. In total, in March 2023, 245 tankers exported oil and petroleum products from Russian ports (excluding exports to Bulgaria and Romania). They transported a total of about 17 million tons of cargo.
Violations of the embargo on the imports of crude oil from Russia into the EU in March 2023 (database)
31 March 2023
In March 2023, 4 violations of the EU embargo on seaborne imports of Russian crude oil from the Black Sea were recorded. All of them involved the delivery of oil to a transshipment point in the Laconian Gulf off the coast of Greece. Shipowners from Greece, UAE, India and Marshall Islands performed 1 voyage each. A total of 476,449 tons of Russian crude oil were delivered to the transshipment point in the Laconian Gulf in violation of the embargo, compared with 975,520 tons in February 2023 and 1,274,281 tons in January 2023.
In March 2023, 56 Tankers exported Kazakh Oil from the Russian Black Sea Port of Novorossiysk (Database)
31 March 2023
In March 2023, a total of 56 tankers exported CPC oil from the Russian port of Novorossiysk, excluding the exports to Bulgaria and Romania. Together they exported a total of about 7.8 million tons of oil, including 4.6 million tons to the EU and 3.2 million tons to other countries.
Violation of the Embargo on Russia’s Crude Oil Imports to the EU in February-March 2023
29 March 2023
In February-March 2023, we have recorded a decrease in the number of violations of the EU embargo on Russian crude oil sea imports from the Black Sea ports. While in January there were 12 such violations, in February their number dropped to 7, and in March — to 4 cases. Unlike in the previous two months, in March 2023, there were no deliveries of Russian crude oil directly to EU ports and only 1 of the tankers violating the embargo belongs to a company registered in an EU country, namely, Greece. The oil volume delivered from the Black Sea to the Laconian Gulf (Greece) transshipment raid also remains somewhat lower than previously recorded.
Russian Black Sea Crude Oil Exports in February-March 2023: Major Changes
24 March 2023
Between March 1-20, 2023, our recorded exports of Russian crude oil from the Black Sea to the EU were half of those in the previous month. Meanwhile, Russia's Black Sea crude oil exports to other countries in February-March 2023, developed somewhat differently than the international agencies and experts had predicted. In the first 15 days of March 2023 alone, compared to the 28 days of February 2023, the volume of Russian crude oil exports actually increased by 41.8%, or 783,339 tons, totaling 3,133,165 tons, which set an absolute record for the year and became the most important development of those three months.
The Black Sea «Grain Corridor» between September 2022 - March 2023 — New Highlights
17 March 2023
The average daily number of ships arriving at the ports of Odesa as part of the «Black Sea Grain Initiative» is one of the indicators of military risks for the region. While in September 2022, it averaged 5.9 vessels per day, in October – 5.1, in November 2022 – 3.3, in December – 3.2, in January 2023 – 2.8, in February – 2.5 and between March 1-10, 2023 – 2.8 vessels per day. The decrease is the result of Russia conscious policy of inspecting no more than 3-4 vessels per day as part of its joint inspections with Turkey. The RF agreement to extend the «grain initiative» for 60, instead of the previous 120 days, is predetermined by the single factor — the May 14, 2023 presidential and parliamentary elections in Turkey.
181 tankers exported crude oil and petroleum products from Russian Black Sea ports in February 2023: The database
28 February 2023
The Monitoring Group of the Black Sea Institute of Strategic Studies and BlackSeaNews, based on the results of its own monitoring, presents a database of seaborne exports of crude oil and petroleum products from Russian ports on the Black and Azov Seas in February 2023. In total, in February 2023, 181 tankers exported oil and petroleum products from Russian ports (excluding exports to Bulgaria and Romania). They transported a total of about 12.2 million tons of cargo.
Violations of the embargo on the imports of crude oil from Russia into the EU in February 2023 (database)
28 February 2023
In February 2023, 7 violations of the EU embargo on seaborne imports of Russian crude oil from the Black Sea were recorded. All of them involved the delivery of oil to a transshipment point in the Laconian Gulf off the coast of Greece. 5 such voyages were made by tankers belonging to companies from Greece, 2 shipowners from Denmark and Liberia performed 1 voyage each. A total of 975,520 tons of Russian crude oil were delivered to the transshipment point in the Laconian Gulf in violation of the embargo, compared with 1,274,281 tons in January 2023 and 1,019,247 tons in December 2022.