Bloomberg: Turkey will actually close its straits for Russian oil exports

Starting December 1, the Turkish government intends to close the Bosphorus and Dardanelles to oil tankers that do not have insurance coverage, Bloomberg reported , citing a directive from the Turkish Ministry of Transport sent to shipowners. This measure will undoubtedly hit Russian oilmen, who will lose the opportunity to freely receive insurance due to sanctions, since from December 5 it will be available only for ships carrying oil at a price below the established limit.

The agency also received confirmation of the news from a Turkish official working in the maritime traffic control system: although Turkey has not formally joined the European sanctions, it intends to comply with the new rules.

The official admitted to the agency that the innovations will primarily affect ships with Russian oil, which will not be able to obtain insurance guarantees for damages in the event of a state of emergency, for example, an oil spill.

He also stressed that this decision of the Turkish side is connected with security measures. The agency emphasizes that in this case, the entire export of Russian oil - and this is approximately 650 thousand barrels per day - from the port of Novorossiysk will be under attack.

At the same time, the Gaz-Batiushka channel, citing the German N-TV channel, reports that Russia's energy export revenues are still growing despite the sanctions, as gas, oil and coal prices are rising.

Moreover, not only rising fuel prices affect Russia's income. In the first nine months of 2022, Russian imports to Germany grew in value terms by almost 30% and reached €30.2 billion.