US Eases Sanctions On Iranian-Linked Tankers To Stabilise Global Oil Markets

The United States is turning to tankers linked to Iran to help move oil. This is the Donald Trump administration's effort to deal with rising oil prices as the US-Israeli war on Iran rages on.

Last week, the US Treasury eased some sanctions on Russia, letting ships and companies, including some tied to Iran, transport and sell Russian oil, Reuters reported.

Many of these vessels are part of a “ghost fleet” used to move oil for countries like Russia and Venezuela despite sanctions.

The waiver covers more than 370 tankers carrying up to 215 million barrels of Russian oil, according to Windward and Vortexa. Nearly half of these ships are under sanctions by the US, Britain or the European Union.

This comes as oil prices have jumped nearly 40 per cent since US-Israeli strikes on Iran began on February 28. Tehran has shut off the critical Strait of Hormuz for the US and its allies in retaliation for the war that assassinated their Supreme Leader, Ali Khamenei, top army chief Ali Larijani, along with other senior officials.

Efforts like releasing strategic reserves have failed to calm the market. With Persian Gulf supplies disrupted, the US is now relying on these vessels to boost supply.

One of the ships covered by the exemption is the tanker Myra. It was reportedly sanctioned in July for its role in moving Iranian and Russian oil.

Shipping data shows the Myra was waiting near Russia's Ust-Luga port with over 2.2 lakh barrels of crude. It is one of at least four ships carrying about two million barrels now cleared to enter the market under the temporary waiver.

“Anything that destigmatises this fleet is a big win for Russia and Iran,” Robin Brooks, a senior fellow in the global economy and development programme at the Brookings Institution, told The NYT.

Treasury officials said this is temporary. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said the goal is to “promote stability in global energy markets.”

He also said the US is allowing Iranian tankers to pass through the Strait of Hormuz to “supply the rest of the world” with oil.

Companies could make large profits. Oil bought at lower, prewar prices can now be sold at higher rates. “It's quite likely that those cargoes, while they've been on the water, will have doubled in value,” Michelle Wiese Bockmann of Windward, told The NYT.