Ton miles, a key industry measure representing the volume of cargo transported by oil tankers multiplied by the distance it travels by sea, are expected to jump by 4.3% this year, resulting in a surge in revenue for supertankers due to sanctions stemming from Russia's invasion of Ukraine, Bloomberg reported. According to data from Clarkson Research Services, daily earnings for the industry's largest supertankers rose to $99,628 on Nov. 18, a mark which is four times the average of the past four years. All of this shows the disruption in the crude oil trading market, Bloomberg said. The disruption stems from Europe's move to ban purchases of Russian oil, which takes effect in December. As a result, cargoes flow instead from Asia, resulting in ships travelling thousands of more miles and driving a key aspect of demand, Bloomberg said.
The Office of Foreign Assets Control on Nov. 21 extended a Russia-related general license that authorizes the payment of certain taxes and import fees to the Central Bank of the Russian Federation, the National Wealth Fund of the Russian Federation or the Ministry of Finance of the Russian Federation despite the sanctions imposed on those entities. General License 13C, which replaces GL 13B (see 2209080047), extends the authorization through 12:01 a.m. EST on March 7, 2023. GL13B was scheduled to expire Dec. 7.
The U.K.'s Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation on Nov. 17 issued a new general license that authorizes certain payments to energy companies for gas or electricity. The payments can be made to Office of Gas and Electricity Markets (OFGEM)-registered energy companies from a frozen U.K. bank account via transfer or direct debit. The OFGEM-registered companies can receive the payments and make return payments to frozen bank accounts, the license said. Designated parties can also receive return payments from energy companies into a frozen U.K. bank account. The license permits this activity through April 16, 2023.
The Office of Foreign Assets Control designated two people and three companies for their roles in exploiting the Guatemalan mining sector, along with three associated entities connected with their corruption schemes, according to a Nov. 18 news release.
The Office of Foreign Assets Control in a Nov. 18 notice issued Russia-related General License 54 authorizing all transactions necessary for the purchase or receipt of any debt or equity securities of VEON Ltd, a multinational telecommunication services company. The license authorizes transactions that would otherwise be prohibited by executive order 14071, Prohibiting New Investment in and Certain Services to the Russian Federation, provided that the debt or equity securities were issued prior to June 6. The license does not authorize transactions otherwise prohibited by the Russian Harmful Foreign Activities Sanctions Regulations, including transactions involving any blocked person, unless separately authorized.
Congress should create a new, “permanent” committee in the executive branch tasked with planning sanctions against China under “a range of possible scenarios,” including if it invades Taiwan, a congressional commission said this week. The bipartisan commission also said the Commerce Department should provide Congress with regular enforcement and licensing reports on certain China-related export control decisions and said the administration should create a new list of Chinese firms that should be subject to strict export licensing requirements.
The U.K.'s Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation on Nov. 14 released a blog post and guidance on the Russian oil price cap. The post coincides with the introduction of the maritime services ban and the price cap exception for crude oil. OFSI said that a General License creating the price cap will be released before Dec. 5 and that additional licenses to "ensure international alignment and the smooth operation of the Price Cap will also be published" before Dec. 5.
The U.K. released a General License, titled, "Funds of non-designated third parties involving designated credit or financial institutions." Granted under the U.K.'s Russia sanctions regulations, the license lets an individual use the retail banking services of a designated credit or financial institution if payments made or received are intended for personal use. Payments cannot exceed around $59,500, and the individual making or receiving the payment must report the payment details to the Treasury. The one-year license expires Nov. 10, 2023.
The U.S. this week sanctioned firms and people involved in making drones and transferring them from Iran to Russia, including an Iranian producer and two United Arab Emirates entities. The designations come less than a month after the U.S. said it was considering additional sanctions on both Russia and Iran following Iranian sales and operation of drones in Ukraine (see 2210210046).
The EU added another 10 individuals and one entity to its sanctions regime pertaining to the use of chemical weapons, the European Council said in a Nov. 14 news release. The additions are connected to the poisoning of Russia's leading opposition leader Alexei Navalny and include high-level officials at the Russian Federal Security Service and Russian chemical weapons experts. The added entity is MHD Nazier Houranieh & Sons, which provides the Syrian Studies and Research Center with materials to make chemical weapons delivery systems.