Two Years And Counting…

23rd Feb 2024:How the Russian invasion of Ukraine changed tanker markets Tomorrow, Saturday 24 February 2024, marks the second anniversary of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. The war has had a profound impact on the oil and tanker markets. It has upended trade flows for both crude oil and refined products, boosted freight rates and led to a surge in transactions for older second-hand vessels. In this weekly opinion, we will take stock of some of the most important developments since the conflict started two years ago. The first time we wrote about the situation in Ukraine was on January 21, 2022, one month before the invasion. In our Opinion titled “Russian Roulette”, we highlighted the importance of Russian crude and product for the European markets. We said: “Sanctions will disrupt trade flows and create significant dislocations and inefficiencies, which typically benefit the tanker market.” This is exactly how it played out. Ultimately, Europe stopped importing crude oil and refined products from Russia and this completely scrambled trade flows, in particular in the Atlantic Basin. Europe kept more of its North Sea production and boosted crude oil imports from across the Atlantic, in particular the United States.