Turkey will continue to require insurance documents for the passage of oil tankers

Insurance companies refuse to issue letters of insurance for the passage of oil tankers through the Black Sea straits, but Ankara will continue to demand these documents. This statement was made by the General Directorate of Maritime Affairs of the Ministry of Transport of Turkey, transmits “RIA News”.

“Insurance companies refuse to issue such letters, which are issued on a routine basis,” the report says. The Turkish authorities also noted that the reason for the refusal was “incomprehensible.”

Ankara stressed that it will continue to insist on providing letters of insurance for oil tankers.

In the same time, writes TASS, the Turkish Ministry of Transport denied reports of large traffic jams from oil tankers near the Bosphorus. According to the agency, there are currently 15 ships off the coast of Turkey, and not 100, as some media claim.

December 5 Financial Times (FT) reported about the resulting congestion from oil tankers off the coast of Turkey. On the same day, the price ceiling for Russian oil came into force. Also, from December 1, Turkey requires a letter from insurance companies confirming the provision of P&I insurance to the vessel.

According to the newspaper, Ankara requested a new proof of insurance due to the restrictions imposed. However, the publication noted, Russian tankers can get access to Western insurers only if oil is sold at $60 per barrel or less.

At the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation expressed concern about the situation. Deputy Foreign Minister of the Russian Federation Alexander Grushko specified that the problem is already being solved through transport and insurance companies. If agreement on the issue cannot be reached in this way, then the political level will have to be involved, the diplomat added.

December 8 FT with reference to Western officials clarifiedthat the price ceiling could not be the reason for the accumulation of oil tankers off the coast of Turkey, since, according to sources, “out of about 20 tankers”, all but one carry oil from Kazakhstan. The interlocutors of the publication also noted that the queue was formed due to Ankara’s requirements for insurance.

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