US again eases sanctions on Russian oil shipments

The United States has issued a new license allowing the supply and sale of Russian-origin crude oil and petroleum products that were loaded onto vessels as of April 17.

That is according to the U.S. Department of the Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC), Ukrinform reports.

Under the document, all transactions previously prohibited under another license issued on March 19 – and ordinarily incident and necessary to the sale, transport, or offloading of Russian-origin crude oil or petroleum products – are now authorized through 12:01 a.m. eastern daylight time on May 16, 2026.

These permitted activities include the safe docking and anchoring of vessels carrying such cargo, preserving the health and safety of crews, emergency repairs, and environmental mitigation or protection measures related to those ships. They also cover a range of services such as vessel management, crewing, bunkering, and other related operations.

As reported earlier, in April, the U.S. administration decided not to extend a sanctions exemption that had allowed purchases of Russian oil already loaded onto tankers.

In March, the United States suspended sanctions for one month on the sale of Russian crude oil and petroleum products that had been loaded onto vessels before March 12.

Illustrative photo: Shaah Shahidh on Unsplash