Russian officials say rescue workers have successfully removed almost 1,500 tons of oil stranded onboard a tanker that ran aground in December, sparking a devastating oil spill that has damaged miles of coastline along the Black Sea.

Freight rates for Russian ESPO Blend oil loading from the Far Eastern port of Kozmino have jumped fivefold amid a lack of vessels after fresh U.S. sanctions cut availability of tankers, three traders said and data showed.

Oil tanker rates jumped on Monday as the Biden Administration’s sanctions on Russia’s petroleum trade threaten to cut the supply of ships while forcing traders to seek alternative sources of crude.

A tanker carrying Russian crude discharged at a port operated by Shandong Port Group in east China on Thursday.

A tanker subject to the new U.S. sanctions is discharging Russian oil at a port operated by Shandong Port Group in east China, shipping data on LSEG Eikon showed on Thursday.

An oil tanker sanctioned in Washington’s harshest round of curbs against Russia’s energy industry has become the first such vessel to dock at the Russian port of Kozmino, where it’s loading a cargo of crude.

The United States has clarified to India that tankers loaded with Russian oil have to discharge by Feb. 27 under the latest sanctions targeting Moscow's oil revenue, India's oil secretary Pankaj Jain told reporters at an event.

India's state-run refiner Bharat Petroleum Corp sees its Russian oil processing down to 20% in March from 31% this month as it awaits offers from traders, its head of finance Vetsa Ramakrishna Gupta told an analyst call on Thursday.

The recent implementation of new US sanctions targeting Russian oil producers, tankers, and insurers has created a disruption in the supply chain. Middlemen who were previously involved in supplying Russian oil to Indian refiners,

Middlemen supplying Russian oil are not offering cargoes due to new U.S. sanctions targeting Russian producers, tankers and insurers, according to the finance chief at Indian refiner Bharat Petroleum.