{"id":440114,"date":"2026-10-15T07:52:55","date_gmt":"2026-10-15T00:52:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.swingfish.trade\/blog\/market-news\/us-weighs-easing-shadow-fleet-sanctions-to-cut-record-tanker-freight-rates-440114\/"},"modified":"2026-10-15T07:52:55","modified_gmt":"2026-10-15T00:52:55","slug":"us-weighs-easing-shadow-fleet-sanctions-to-cut-record-tanker-freight-rates","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.swingfish.trade\/blog\/market-news\/us-weighs-easing-shadow-fleet-sanctions-to-cut-record-tanker-freight-rates-440114\/","title":{"rendered":"US weighs easing shadow fleet sanctions to cut record tanker freight rates"},"content":{"rendered":"<div>\n<p dir=\"ltr\">For oil traders, the signal matters more than the mechanics: Washington is clearly prioritising lower fuel costs ahead of the midterms and is willing to bend sanctions policy to get there. Any added tanker capacity in the Gulf would most directly help Middle East barrels reach Asian buyers, which could narrow the premium Asian refiners pay for alternative supply. Tanker equities, which have benefited from record rates, may be sensitive to headlines like this even if the real capacity added proves small. The political backlash over the Russian diesel waiver suggests any formal move will face resistance from Congress and European allies, so the policy may be slow to take shape.<\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\">\n<p dir=\"ltr\">&#8212;<\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\">Earlier:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/investinglive.com\/commodities\/iran-s-irgc-orders-evacuation-of-military-bases-as-us-strike-fears-grow-reports\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"follow\">Iran\u2019s IRGC orders evacuation of military bases as US strike fears grow: reports<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/investinglive.com\/commodities\/oil-catch-up-price-gains-as-houthis-strike-aramco-and-iran-flags-new-tactics-against-tankers\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"follow\">Oil catch up &#8211; price gains as Houthis strike Aramco and Iran flags new tactics against tankers<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p dir=\"ltr\">&#8212;<br \/>\nWashington wants cheaper shipping before the midterms, but the old tankers it is eyeing may not move the needle on freight rates.<\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\">Summary:<\/p>\n<ul dir=\"ltr\">\n<li>The Trump administration is considering easing sanctions on shadow fleet tankers to cut record freight rates, a US official told Reuters<\/li>\n<li>The plan would allow non-sanctioned \u201clegal oil\u201d on previously sanctioned vessels, with companies applying to the Treasury, and aims to move more oil out of the Gulf<\/li>\n<li>Energy Secretary Chris Wright referred to the talks in a video message to the World Petroleum Congress, according to Energy Aspects<\/li>\n<li>The move follows Trump\u2019s temporary lifting of sanctions on Russian diesel until April 7, which drew criticism from Ukraine, Europe and some Republican senators<\/li>\n<li>Energy Aspects said the impact on freight rates would be small, though a few more tankers could become available for Strait of Hormuz runs<\/li>\n<li>Industry sources said EU and UK rules binding ship insurers would limit any broad easing<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p dir=\"ltr\">\nThe Trump administration is considering easing sanctions on so-called shadow fleet tankers in an effort to bring down record-high global freight rates, a US official told Reuters on Wednesday.<\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\">The shadow fleet refers to vessels that have carried oil and fuel from sanctioned countries, including Russia, Iran and Venezuela, often outside mainstream shipping and insurance channels. According to the official, the discussions centre on allowing \u201clegal oil\u201d to move on previously sanctioned ships. That means crude or refined products not subject to US sanctions, rather than Russian or Iranian oil, which remain under punitive measures. The aim is to get more crude and refined products out of the Gulf, the official said, and companies wanting to use the vessels would need to apply to the US Treasury.<\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\">US Energy Secretary Chris Wright told the World Petroleum Congress in Riyadh this week, in a video message, that the administration was discussing the move to tackle freight costs that have hurt demand for US crude, according to research group Energy Aspects. Reuters said it could not obtain the full video or a transcript. The Department of Energy said any easing would not help Russia move oil or oil products, while the Treasury referred questions to the energy department. The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment.<\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\">The talks come days after President Donald Trump temporarily lifted sanctions on Russian diesel until April 7. That step drew sharp criticism from Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy, European governments and some Republican senators, who said it would give Russia more revenue to fund its war in Ukraine. Reuters noted that Trump\u2019s push to get Russian diesel onto global markets quickly could add pressure to allow shipments on the vessels.<\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\">Tanker rates have climbed to records as the wars in Iran and Ukraine fuel inflation and price US crude out of reach for Asian refiners, pushing them towards Middle East and Latin American supply. High fuel prices are also a political risk for Trump ahead of the November 3 midterm elections.<\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\">The practical impact may be limited. Energy Aspects said easing the sanctions would do little for freight rates, since most of the ageing tankers involved have already been trading in recent months, though it could free a small number of ships for shuttle runs through the Strait of Hormuz. Maritime industry sources told Reuters that ship insurers would still be bound by EU and UK rules, which would limit any broad easing in rates.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\">\n<p>                            This article was written by Eamonn Sheridan at investinglive.com.<\/p><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>For oil traders, the signal matters more than the mechanics: Washington is clearly prioritising lower fuel costs ahead of the midterms and is willing to bend sanctions policy to get there. Any&hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":216,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[86],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-440114","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-market-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.swingfish.trade\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/440114","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.swingfish.trade\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.swingfish.trade\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.swingfish.trade\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/216"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.swingfish.trade\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=440114"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.swingfish.trade\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/440114\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.swingfish.trade\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=440114"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.swingfish.trade\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=440114"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.swingfish.trade\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=440114"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}