Russian state tanker operator Sovcomflot is still transporting oil and making a profit despite Western sanctions. According to experts, this reflects both the resilience of the organisation and Washington’s reluctance to impose sanctions on Russian energy exports.
Sovcomflot (SCF) posted a net profit of more than $300 million on revenues of $1 billion in the first half of the year, with a margin of 30 per cent.
The company said in its earnings statement that its long-term contracts and favourable tanker market conditions kept earnings high, although not as high as in the same period last year.
SCF noted ‘increased sanctions pressure from unfriendly countries’ but said it would continue its ‘systematic efforts’ to overcome these obstacles.
Sanctions against Sovcomflot remain in place but are limited in scope. The US Treasury announced sanctions against SCF in February, but made no changes to the company’s current listing, which extends to 2022. The listing authorises any legal transactions with Sovcomflot, except financing transactions involving long-term debt or new equity.
The Treasury Department sanctioned 14 private Sovcomflot vessels, but the ministry emphasised that Sovcomflot’s remaining tankers are available for use by any charterer. The SCF claims to own 147 vessels, ten times the number of sanctioned vessels.
