Tankers are anchored, and stocks are losing value: What is happening to the Russian oil industry after new US sanctions?

At least 65 oil tankers have dropped anchor off the coast of China and Russia after the US announced a new package of sanctions. Data from ship tracking services show that five tankers have stopped moving near Chinese ports, another seven have dropped anchor off the coast of Singapore, along with others off the Russian coast in the Baltic Sea and in the Far East. In total, 183 ships carrying Russian oil were sanctioned on January 10.

Analysts have estimated that about 10% of the world’s oil tanker fleet has come under US sanctions. Previous sanctions packages shackled another 25 oil tankers.

Along with the industry’s poor performance and disastrous export trends, shares of Russian oil companies on the Moscow Exchange have fallen following the sharp increase in US sanctions. Three oil companies, Gazprom Neft, Surgutneftegaz, and Rosneft, which account for two-thirds of the country’s total oil production, lost ₽361B in value ($3.54B). In addition, shares of the largest Russian shipping company, Sovcomflot, fell by 4.5% in Monday’s trading, losing ₽9B in capitalization.