Roughly one-third of the global Aframax fleet has now been blacklisted as the shadow-sanctioned fleet continues to expand, according to new data from Clarksons. Western nations have added nearly 500 oil tankers to their sanctioned vessel lists so far this year, bringing the total to 908 tankers, equivalent to around 16% of the global fleet.

Aframaxes account for the highest proportion of sanctioned vessels at 33% of fleet capacity, reflecting their central role in transporting Russian crude. The share is lower among larger segments, at roughly 16% for Suezmaxes and VLCCs.

US sanctions set to significantly impact crude market
Clarksons noted that the latest US measures targeting Russian oil majors Rosneft and Lukoil could have a more meaningful impact on trade flows than vessel-specific sanctions. Major Indian refiners have already started purchasing alternative cargoes from the Middle East Gulf and some Chinese state-owned oil companies are reducing purchases of Russian crude. If these refiners replace Russian barrels with non-sanctioned supply, demand for mainstream tonnage is expected to rise.