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Second Russian tanker, struck by sanctions, docks at Chinese port to discharge crude

Russian tanker Krymsk, struck by sanctions, docked on Wednesday at the Chinese port of Dongying in eastern Shandong province, home of independent refiners, to discharge 700,000 barrels of Russian Sokol crude, LSEG and Kpler shipping information showed.

This is the second Russian oil tanker, hit by sanctions, to dock at Chinese ports this month. Recently, tanker Liteyny Possibility discharged its 700,000-barrel Sokol crude cargo at the Chinese port of Huanghua near Cangzhou city in Hebei province.

When contacted, the Dongying port authority decreased remark . The supervisor of the tanker, Sovcomflot (SCF), did not immediately react to a request for remark.

China has become the leading lifter of light sweet Sokol crude after deliveries to India fell following payment and shipping problems due to sanctions.

China's Sokol crude imports surged this month and might strike an all-time high of 379,000 barrels each day, according to price quotes from Kpler. The information left out oil from the 2 sanctioned Russian tankers.

Sokol oil is a low-sulphur, light grade exported from De Kastri terminal of Russia's Sakhalin island by Sakhalin-1 LLC, managed by oil giant Rosneft.

The U.S. Treasury's Office of Foreign Property Control ( OFAC) late last month imposed

sanctions

on SCF and designated 14 crude vessels, consisting of Liteyny Prospect and Krymsk, as home in which SCF has an interest.

OFAC released general licences allowing the offloading of petroleum, or other cargoes, from the 14 vessels for 45 days, and permitting deals with all other Sovcomflot tankers.

The sanctions are focused on lowering revenues from oil sales that Russia can utilize to support its war in Ukraine.