Putin's shadow fleet sunk: crisis for Russia's economy everywhere!

western sanctions let Russia's shadow fleet come under pressure. While China's port operator Shandong Port Group has given a docking ban for Russian oil tankers, Vladimir Putin confirms that the sanctions have an effect. The affected ports in the province of Shandong are of great importance because they accommodate many refineries. Ships that are on the OFAC sanction list must not dock, unload or receive services there. At the same time, there is an increasing inflation in Russia, the key interest rates have reached a record level, which could lead to an upcoming insolven wave in aviation.

With regard to the oil trade, the G7 nations introduced a price lid of $ 60 per barrel to reduce Russia's income. Even though Russia has temporarily sold oil over the price cover, which brought billions into business, Chinese banks are increasingly reporting that they would refuse cooperation with sanctioned Russian financial institutions. Nevertheless, China's exports to Russia rose by 24.4 percent in October 2024 compared to the previous year, while imports from Russia dropped by 4.3 percent, such as ZDF.de reported.

The shadow fleet now comprises well more than 1,000 ships and is not only used for oil exports, but also for hidden attacks. Experts warn that the ships, which are often not modernized, represent a security and environmental risk. In addition, NATO plans to increase its military presence in the Baltic Sea in order to prevent possible further damage to Untersekabeln. While Russia controls 17 percent of the global oil anchor fleet, analysts predict despite the existing sanctions for 2024 Russian oil revenue of $ 193 billion.