
Photo: iStock / HeliRy
Oil loadings at Russia’s two major Black Sea terminals have been suspended over paperwork related to new security rules for entry into ports, according to Reuters.
The suspension has affected the port of Novorossiysk and the Yuzhnaya Ozereevka terminal, the export facility for the Caspian Pipeline Consortium, Reuters reported, citing two unidentified people in the industry. One of them said he expected the situation to be resolved in a day or two.
The setbacks follow changes in rules for ships accessing Russian sea ports after a series of mysterious blasts on oil tankers in recent months. Earlier this week, President Vladimir Putin signed a decree requiring that vessels arriving from foreign terminals ask permission from port captains, with the consent from the nation’s Federal Security Service, or FSB, the main successor of the Soviet KGB security service.
The suspension of oil loadings at Russia’s two terminals on the Black Sea adds uncertainty to the Mediterranean oil market, already affected by delayed loadings of Azeri light oil because of contamination issues.
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