The move aims to lower transportation costs as freight for one supertanker trip from the Gulf to China jumped from $4M to $72M this year. While oil at sea is near a record 1.27B barrels, analyst firms Kpler and Oil Brokerage suggest the impact may be limited because 70% of eligible sanctioned tankers are over 20 years old. Kpler estimates only 24 of approximately 160 tankers sanctioned by the US Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control could realistically rejoin the mainstream fleet due to age and high current freight profits.
Tuesday, October 20, 2026
Story
US Lets Investors Buy Sanctioned Tankers to Cut Record Freight Rates
Commodities14 hours ago
Washington is introducing a screening process to transition vessels from the shadow fleet into regulated trade by changing their ownership and operations. Energy Secretary Chris Wright said the initiative allows private firms to purchase and refurbish sanctioned vessels to transport non-sanctioned crude, effectively shifting them from the "bad-guy" to the "good-guy" fleet. The administration believes dozens to hundreds of the roughly 1,600 tankers sailing in the dark fleet could be converted through a case-by-case review without formally lifting existing sanctions.
Looking for more context or analysis?
Tilt chat provides reliable, tailored insights, alerts, and automations.