Russia’s crude oil exports from the Black Sea to EU countries in January 2023. Violations of the embargo again?

The Monitoring Group of BlackSeaNews
and the Black Sea Institute of Strategic Studies  

The Monitoring Group of the Black Sea Institute of Strategic Studies and BlackSeaNews reports on the results of its own monitoring of seaborne exports of Russia’s crude oil to EU countries in January 2023 in violation of the embargo effective from 5 December 2022.

Summary

In January 2023, under the embargo, the actual volume of Russian crude oil exports from Black Sea ports to EU countries was 1.27 million tons. Compared to December 2022, these exports under sanctions increased by 25% or by about 250 thousand tons. Russian oil was transported to 4 EU countries: Greece – 961,124 tons (75% of the total volume), Spain – 159,058 tons, the Netherlands – 103,755 tons, and Slovenia – 50,344 tons.

Of the 12 oil tankers that carried Russian crude oil to EU countries in January 2023, 8 tankers are owned and operated by companies registered in Greece, Denmark, and Cyprus. The remaining 4 – by companies registered in Turkey, the Marshall Islands, and the subsidiaries of the Russian Sovcomflot, registered in Dubai.

Tankers carrying Russian crude oil arrived directly at the ports of Slovenia, the Netherlands, and Spain, and at anchorages in the territorial sea (i.e. the 12-mile zone) of Greece.

The full text of the report

Important notes:

a) The Russian Federation exports crude oil and petroleum products (fuel oil, gas oil, and solar oil) from the ports on the Black and Azov Seas. They are exported by different types of vessels – crude oil tankers and oil/chemical tankers (or oil products tankers) respectively. Crude oil tankers are usually very large: in the Black Sea, one such tanker takes from 100 to 150 thousand tons of crude oil. Oil products tankers have a significantly lower freight-carrying capacity: the commonest are in the ranges of 3-5 and 25-30 thousand tons. The monthly ratio between the volume of exports of Russia’s crude oil and petroleum products is approximately 3:1.

b) Two separate streams of crude oil are exported from Black Sea ports: crude oil of the Russian Federation (from the ports of Novorossiysk, Taman, and Tuapse, from the transshipment points in the Kerch Strait and to the south of it) and crude oil of the Caspian Pipeline Consortium (CPC) - from a separate terminal of the port of Novorossiysk. The CPC’s crude oil contains 80% of Kazakh oil and 20% of oil produced in Kazakhstan by the Russian company Lukoil. Kazakh oil is not under sanctions, although it is transported through the territory of the Russian Federation.

c) In tables and figures presenting the volume of crude oil and petroleum products exports, the term DWT (deadweight) is used - a measure of how much weight a ship can carry. It is the sum of the weights of cargo, fuel, lubricants, technical and drinking water, passengers, luggage, crew, and provisions. When analysing the transportation of large volumes of oil and petroleum products, other types of cargoes carried by a ship do not significantly influence the results, since even on tankers with a deadweight of 100-150 thousand tons, the sum of the weights of fuel, water, provisions, and a small crew is in the hundreds of tons and does not affect the results of the analysis.

d) This analytical report does not take into account the export volume of crude oil and petroleum products from the Russian Federation to the Black Sea ports and transshipment points of Romania and Bulgaria.

Reference: In July 2022, these exports were estimated to be around 3.1 million tons (1.9 million tons to Romania and 1.2 million tons to Bulgaria). Of these volumes, Russia’s crude oil accounted for about 2.4 million tons (1.4 million tons to Romania and 1.0 million tons to Bulgaria).

e) In tables and figures, for convenience, the term "EU+" is used, which covers not only EU member states but also the USA, the UK, and Monaco. The appropriateness of such grouping is justified by the fact that the exports of oil and petroleum products of the Russian Federation to these countries are very insignificant.

f) In the database of oil tankers at the end of the article, "Crude oil tanker CPC" means that this tanker carries oil from the Caspian Pipeline Consortium’s terminal. Tankers carrying crude oil of the Russian Federation are marked as "Crude oil tankers."

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As we reported earlier, in December 2022, and in particular after 5 December 2022, when the embargo and the price cap came into effect, there wasn’t any significant decline in seaborne exports of Russia’s crude oil from the Black Sea to EU countries.

It remained at the level of 1 million tons, the same as in November 2022. Violations of the embargo by Greece, Spain, and Italy, which we reported, were the main factor behind this seemingly strange phenomenon in December 2022.

In January 2023, according to our monitoring data, the situation not only did not change for the better but also deteriorated.

In January 2023, under the embargo, the volume of Russia’s crude oil exports from Black Sea ports to EU countries increased by 25% compared to December 2022, or by about 250 thousand tons, and reached 1,274,281 tons (See Table 1, Figure 1). 

Table 1. The volume of Russia’s crude oil exports from Black Sea ports in April 2022-January 2023

In January 2023, 12 tankers transported Russian crude oil to 4 EU countries:

• Greece – 961,124 tons, 9 tankers (an increase by 420,992 tons or by 77.9% compared to December 2022).

• Spain – 159,058 tons, 1 tanker (a decrease by 48,323 tons or 23.3% compared to December 2022).

• The Netherlands – 103,755 tons, 1 tanker (an increase, as there were no imports from September to December 2022).

• Slovenia – 50,344 tons, 1 tanker (an increase, as there were no imports from August to December 2022).

The breakdown of the 12 oil tankers that transported crude oil from the Russian Federation to EU countries in January 2023 by country of shipowner registration is as follows (See Table 2 for details).

• 6 tankers are owned and operated by companies registered in Greece.

• 1 tanker – by companies registered in Denmark.

• 2 tankers – by companies registered in Turkey.

• 1 tanker – by companies registered in Cyprus.

• 1 tanker – by a company registered in the Marshall Islands.

• 1 tanker – by subsidiaries of the Russian Sovcomflot, registered in Dubai, the UAE.

The information on shipowner companies and operating companies is provided by www.equasis.org

Tankers carrying Russian crude oil arrived directly at the ports of Slovenia, the Netherlands, and Spain: SI KOP (KOPER), NL RTM (ROTTERDAM), and ES CAR (CARTAGENA).

As to Greece, tankers with Russian oil arrived not at ports, but in gulfs or anchorages in the territorial sea (that is, the 12-mile zone) of Greece, including 7 out of 9 tankers that arrived in the Laconian Gulf (GR LAKONIKOS GULF), where they stayed a few days for raid transshipment of oil. Thus, in this case, we can see at least transit and other operations with Russian crude oil subject to sanctions through the territory of the EU country.

All these cases have been recorded and are shown in the sea charts in Table 2. The sea charts are provided by a service for monitoring the traffic of sea vessels.

Table 2

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This article has been prepared with the support of the European Union in Ukraine. The content of the article is the sole responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily reflect the position of the EU