Two Russian oil tankers were severely damaged in the Kerch Strait near the Black Sea on Sunday, spilling a large amount of oil and triggering an emergency rescue operation.
one video A Russian news website published photos of one of the ships, which broke in two after being stranded in bad weather.
The TASS news agency reported details from the Ministry of Emergency Situations that one crew member died on board the Volgoneft-212 tanker, but a rescue operation succeeded in rescuing 12 other crew members on board before the tanker sank.
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The ministry said a second tanker, the Volgoneft-239, carrying 14 crew members, was also damaged after it ran aground 80 meters off the Taman port in Russia's Krasnodar region.
TASS said the two ships were carrying nearly 9,000 tons of low-grade fuel oil called “mazut.”
The Kerch Strait is an important shipping route between the Russian-occupied Crimean Peninsula and Russia, allowing ships to travel from the Sea of Azov to the Black Sea.
It has been the site of conflict between Russia and Ukraine since it was occupied by Russian forces 10 years ago.
Sanctions on 'dark' Russian tankers still possible
In related news, Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said on Friday that the United States was considering further sanctions on “Dark Fleet” tankers, which are typically much larger than the two tankers that got into trouble on Sunday.
She has also not ruled out imposing sanctions on Chinese banks as the Treasury seeks to reduce Russia's oil revenues.
Yellen told Reuters the United States and its allies could also consider lowering the $60-per-barrel oil price cap for Russian oil that prohibits Western countries from providing insurance and maritime services for cargo above that level.
Yellen added that the Treasury Department had already sanctioned individual tankers and their owners for operating above price caps and could take more steps in that regard, suggesting more should be done in the five weeks before she leaves office.
“There are a lot of possibilities here. We don't foresee sanctions, but we're always looking at oil revenues, and if we can find a way to further weaken Russian oil revenues, I think that will strengthen Ukraine. That's still on our list, ” Yellen said.
Yellen said last week that weak oil markets provided an opportunity for more sanctions. Benchmark Brent crude oil traded at $74.50 a barrel on Friday, down from $85.57 in December 2022 when the $60 a barrel cap was set.
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President Joe Biden's administration has been racing to support Ukraine ahead of President-elect Donald Trump's inauguration on Jan. 20, given the Republican leader's frequent complaints about the cost of U.S. support for Ukraine.
Yellen said Treasury officials would continue discussions with their Chinese counterparts about detecting the activities of financial institutions that may have facilitated war-related transactions with Russia.
“I would absolutely not rule out the possibility that we would sanction individual banks if we had enough … evidence to impose sanctions,” she said. “But we do have a channel where we can talk about specific issues, and sometimes that's enough.”
She said warnings to China's big banks had been successful, making them “very wary” of sanctions that would cut off their transactions with the dollar. In an executive order about a year ago, Biden authorized the Treasury Department to impose secondary sanctions on financial institutions that facilitate war-related transactions.
As the Russian economy became increasingly dominated by military production, it became increasingly difficult to distinguish strictly commercial transactions from war-related transactions.
“The Chinese authorities recognize that our use of these sanctions will pose a serious threat and have very negative consequences,” Yellen said. “They want to trade with Russia, but they don't want their banks to be sanctioned.”
China-U.S. Financial Conference held in Tianjin
Yellen said the final meeting of the U.S.-China financial working group will be held this week in the northeastern Chinese city of Tianjin, but sanctions were unlikely to be a main feature. Instead, it will focus on financial stability issues, including “tabletop” exercises on how to respond to potential financial crises.
Yellen said it was important for the Trump administration to have open lines of communication with China, adding: “I don't think it can just be a leader-to-leader meeting. The relationship has to be developed at the senior official level, and we are on a lot of things Constructive work has been carried out.
While the dialogue does not change China's state-led, export-driven economic model, it allows the United States to explain actions such as imposing steep tariffs on electric vehicles.
asked about a report this week Beijing is considering devaluing the yuan Yellen said China has been doing the “completely opposite thing” in recent years to push up the yuan's exchange rate against the U.S. dollar in an effort to counter Trump's tariff plans.
That assessment was detailed in the Treasury Department's most recent semiannual currency report, which found no manipulation by major U.S. trading partners.
She declined to comment on Beijing's specific currency plans but said the U.S. Treasury Department had the tools to respond strongly to concerns about currency manipulation. Bessant is expected to oversee the Treasury's next currency report, due in April.
“I won't be here, but my guess is that if the Treasury Department believes there is currency manipulation, it will continue to fight back,” Yellen said.
Trump's designated White House trade adviser Peter Navarro told Reuters on Friday that Trump's Treasury Department would not “favor” any attempts by U.S. trading partners to manipulate their currencies.
See also:
US 'closely monitoring' Chinese bank's war aid to Russia
US warns China of sanctions: 'helping Russia threaten Europe'
Despite sanctions, 90% of chips used in Russia are still supplied by China
As relations deepen, Chinese and Russian companies have reached multiple deals
Chinese loans to Russia quadruple since Ukraine war – FT
China’s oil imports from Russia rise to near record levels
Banks express concern over U.S. sanctions delaying oil payments to Russia
Big banks withdraw, Sino-Russian trade “goes underground”
Controversy over paying yuan to buy Russian crude delays Indian oil deal
'Casual' traders ship half of Russia's oil to China and India
