And the shipping agency “Tribeca” reported that the number of ships waiting in the Black Sea increased Friday to 20, amid talks to ease the congestion.
Since the beginning of the month, Turkey has implemented a procedure requiring ships to provide evidence of insurance coverage during the transit period in the Bosphorus Strait or when stopping in Turkish ports, which causes a congestion of ships.
The occurrence of the jams coincided with a plan proposed this week by the Group of Seven and the European Union to prevent insurers from helping to export Russian seaborne oil unless it is sold according to a price cap, in an attempt to reduce Russian oil revenues.
A spokesman for the European Commission told Reuters in comments via e-mail that “this situation is not caused by the price ceiling imposed by the Group of Seven,” as there is, according to his statement, a 45-day grace period for seaborne Russian crude oil purchased before the fifth of December.
Under the G7 plan for the grace period, which runs until Jan. 19, shipping services, such as insurance, can continue to be provided for Russian seaborne oil bought before Dec. 5 even if it is sold at a price above the price ceiling.
After the grace period, Turkish authorities can continue to check tanker insurance documents “in the same way as before,” the UNHCR spokesman said.
“Therefore, we are communicating with the Turkish authorities to request clarifications, and we are working to resolve the situation,” he added.
Turkish maritime authorities said on Thursday that they would continue to prevent oil tankers without proper insurance documents from crossing into its waters, and that they needed time to conduct the necessary checks, ignoring external pressures over ship congestion.
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