EU mulls plans to ban insurers from insuring ships carrying Russian oil
The European Union is considering banning insurers from insuring ships carrying Russian oil, as another means of draining Russia of the financial resources it needs to continue bankrolling its war in Ukraine.
If brought into force, the new sanctions would come as another blow to Russia’s energy export industry, as the EU also weighs up plans to ban Russia from importing oil into the bloc.
The insurance ban could see the EU block European insurers from underwriting oil tankers carrying Russian oil, in a bid to hinder Russia’s efforts to sell fuel to Asia.
The proposed sanctions are currently being weighed up as part of the EU’s sixth round of sanctions against the Russian Federation.
The plans for an insurance ban come after the EU dropped plans to entirely block EU vessels from transporting Russian oil to third countries, according to Bloomberg.
While the insurance ban will not completely block Russia from shipping oil to third countries, the new sanctions will make life harder for Russian oil exporters, due to the importance of EU insurers in the global shipping market.