Freight rates for Russian oil exports from the Black Sea hit record high — OilPrice
In the Russian Federation — an aggressor state — the cost of transporting oil by tankers from the Black Sea port of Novorossiysk to India and China has reached record levels. According to OilPrice, the increase in rates is linked to heightened shipping risks following Ukrainian attacks, higher insurance costs, and a shortage of available tankers.
Rates rise for the seventh week
In the week ending September 6, rates for transporting oil on Aframax-class tankers from Novorossiysk to Western India rose by 2.7%, while rates to Northern China increased by 3.1% compared with the previous week. This was the seventh consecutive weekly increase, the Russian newspaper Kommersant reported, citing local price indices.
The cost of delivering one barrel of oil to India was $23.20, and to China, $25.70. Analysts described these figures as the highest ever for routes exporting Russian oil from the Black Sea to Asia.
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Ship shortage and attacks on the port
Kommersant's sources noted that tariffs are affected by elevated shipping risks, more expensive insurance, and lower availability of tankers for voyages from Novorossiysk. Some vessels are operating on longer routes in the Middle East or remain deployed there.
A shortage of tankers has also been recorded in the Baltic Sea, from where Russia exports Urals crude through northwestern ports. According to OilPrice, Ukraine has repeatedly struck Novorossiysk over the past year. Some attacks caused damage and a temporary halt in oil loading at the port and at the neighboring export terminal of the Caspian Pipeline Consortium, which ships oil from Kazakhstan.
Despite higher logistics costs, the publication notes that exporters continue to make profits amid rising international oil prices.
