Three Russian oil tankers are anchored off the eastern coast of China following U.S. sanctions.

Three Russian tankers carrying over 2 million barrels of oil are anchored in the waters near eastern China following the imposition of U.S. sanctions.

This was reported by Andriy Yermak, head of the Office of the President.

"All tankers that helped circumvent sanctions must be nullified," he stated.

According to Bloomberg, data from Kpler, a company specializing in gathering information about commodity markets, indicated that the vessel Huihai Pacific was scheduled to arrive in Dongjiakou in Shandong Province on January 15 after loading nearly 770,000 barrels of ESPO crude oil at the Russian Pacific port of Kozmino earlier this month. However, over the weekend, it changed course and is now anchored offshore, loaded with oil.

This vessel, like many others, fell under the most aggressive package of measures aimed at Russian oil exports since the invasion of Ukraine in early 2022. Several tankers and at least one trader dealing in ESPO crude, a type preferred by independent Chinese refiners or "teapots," have been sanctioned.

Mermar departed from Kozmino on January 5 with over 755,000 barrels of ESPO and was set to dock at the Yantai port this week, but is now waiting offshore, according to Kpler data. The vessel Olia left the Russian port on January 7 with almost 709,000 barrels of this grade and was also headed for Yantai, but is currently in the Yellow Sea.

Washington's actions came just days after Shandong Port Group, which operates several ports in the province, urged terminals to stop accepting and unloading sanctioned oil tankers, Bloomberg reports.

Background. Earlier, Mind reported that the U.S. Department of the Treasury announced new sweeping sanctions against the Russian energy sector on January 10, including the largest oil company Gazprom Neft and Surgutneftegas, to hinder Moscow in its war against Ukraine, depriving Russia of billions of dollars each month.