As of December 8, about 20 tankers were in congestion in the Bosphorus near Turkey, and nine more tankers were stagnant at the Dardanelles.

2-8, Istanbul, Turkey, waiting for a cruise ship.

As of December 8, about 20 tankers were in congestion in the Bosphorus Strait near Turkey , and nine tankers were stagnant at Dardanelles Strait (also known as Canakale Strait ). It is reported that this is affected by a new insurance policy in Turkey.

Turkey introduces a new insurance policy to affect the passage of tankers

According to CNN (CNN) on December 8, Turkey's new insurance policy requires all ships to issue valid insurance certificates to ensure that in the case of EU and G7 (G7) implementing price limit orders on Russian oil, ships and goods transported can still be guaranteed by the insurance company . Türkiye's maritime department said last month that due to the "catastrophic consequences" of the accident in the tanker, "it must be done in some way to ensure that the ship's protection and liability insurance remains comprehensive and effective."

checks the insurance certificate one by one, delaying the passage of ships, thus causing congestion. According to Bloomberg, the inability to pass normally has increased the transportation cost by about US$13 million (about RMB 90.34 million) and the cost of each additional waiting time of one day is expected to increase by about US$100,000 (about RMB 700,000). According to , the US consumer news and business channel (CNBC), on December 8, there are more than 20 million barrels of crude oil on all tankers that are congested in the Bosphorus, worth about 1.2 billion US dollars (about 8.04 billion yuan).

EU member states recently agreed to set a price limit of US$60 per barrel for Russian maritime oil exports. One provision that guarantees that this cap will be subject to is that if oil is sold at a price above the cap, oil suppliers will not be able to access maritime, insurance and reinsurance services provided primarily by companies in developed countries.

The UK PI Club accused the Turkish government of "far beyond the general requirements". In response, Turkey responded that the British Insurance Association's position was "unacceptable" and issued a statement on the 8th, reiterating that insurance companies must underwrite in accordance with Turkey's requirements. "Most of the tankers waiting for passage belong to the EU, the destination is EU ports, and the price limit order was initiated by the EU, so it is difficult to understand why insurance companies established in the EU refuse to underwrite EU ships."

oil tanker congestion has caused concerns. Industry insiders: There is no big problem

Türkiye is located at a key hub for the passage of Eurasia . The Bosphorus and Dardanelles are called Turkish Strait , which is mainly controlled by Türkiye. Ships from the direction of the Black Sea in Russia need to first pass through the Bosphorus, enter the Marmara Sea , and then pass through the Dardanelles to enter the Mediterranean and export to the vast European market. Currently, crude oil exports of Russia, Kazakhstan and Azerbaijan are all dependent on the Turkish Strait. The congestion has attracted the attention of Britain, the United States and other countries, and they are actively talking with Turkey.

According to Reuters on December 9, US Deputy Secretary of the Treasury Wally Adeyemo said in a statement on the 8th: "We are communicating with Turkey. The price limit order is only for Russian oil, and Turkey does not need to inspect the passing ships one by one. We believe that the ships currently in congestion are not Russian crude oil, so they are not affected by the price limit order." The British Ministry of Finance also issued a statement saying that "the UK, the United States and the EU have maintained active cooperation with the Turkish government and the insurance industry to ensure the implementation of the price limit order and properly resolve the problems."

On the other hand, the Turkish government clarified that there are not so many ships actually stuck in congestion. In a statement issued on the 8th, the Turkish maritime department stated that the number of ships waiting for passage should not be used to put pressure on it to change its policies.The Kazakhstan Ministry of Energy said, "The current waiting time for tankers in the Bosphorus and Dardanelles is 6 days. For winter, such waiting time is normal. In December last year, tankers had to wait on average about 14 days."

Although the incident has not yet had an impact on global oil supply and oil prices, Andrew Lipow, president of Lipow Oil Associates, said that if the passage continues to be delayed, refineries will have to find alternative supplies from other countries or lower their production and operation capabilities, which will have an impact on global gasoline and diesel supply. "If the delay continues for another week, the impact will appear." Jorge Leon, senior vice president of Rystad Energy, said, "Based on the reactions of British and US government officials, I think this problem will be resolved soon."