Denmark is looking at ways to restrict the passage of old tankers carrying Russian oil through the Baltic Sea, the Scandinavian country's foreign minister said in Monday, which could lead to a confrontation with Moscow, reports Reuters.
Russia sends about a third of its oil exports by sea, or 1.5% of the world's supply, through the Danish Straits, which are the gateway to the Baltic Sea. Any attempt to cut off supplies would raise oil prices and hit the Kremlin's finances.
Denmark has assembled a group of allied countries that are evaluating measures aimed at the so-called "shadow fleet" of obsolete ships transporting Russian oil, Foreign Minister Lars Löcke Rasmussen told Reuters.
"There is a broad consensus that the shadow fleet is an international problem and that international solutions are needed," said Lioke Rasmussen.
"It is important that all new measures can be implemented in practice and are legally sound in terms of international law," he added.
The countries participating in the negotiations include other Baltic states and members of the European Union, the minister said.
Denmark is concerned that old tankers carrying oil through its straits pose a potential environmental hazard.
This initiative could provoke a serious reaction from Russia, while also having the potential to affect global energy markets.
The European Union is proposing sanctions on Russian tanker giant Sovcomflot in an effort to curb the Kremlin's ability to finance its war against Ukraine, Bloomberg News reported on June 12, citing a document seen by it.
The move would follow similar punitive measures imposed on Russia's leading tanker group in early 2024 by the US, with Washington pushing to tighten Moscow's grip on its war in Ukraine, which Russia launched in 2022.
"Sovcomloft", formerly one of the world's leading tanker operators, is shipping 75 million metric tons of oil in 2023, mainly to the markets of China, India and the Mediterranean.