European countries will check insurance of tankers carrying Russian oil - FT

MOSCOW. Dec 17 (Interfax) - European governments have agreed on a new mechanism according to which tankers transporting Russian oil in European waters should present appropriate insurance for accidents, the Financial Times said, citing informed sources.

This agreement was reached at a meeting of the northern European countries' Joint Expeditionary Force (JEF) on Monday, the sources said.

European maritime agencies will request documents confirming insurance from vessels passing through the Danish Straits, the Gulf of Finland and the waters between Sweden and Denmark. Insurance should be issued by one of the coastal states - Great Britain, Denmark, Sweden, Poland, Finland or Estonia.

Vessels may be threatened with sanctions in the event that they do not have insurance. Sanctions may also be introduced for tankers that decline to respond to requests from the authorities, one of the sources said.

Sanctions introduced by the G7 countries forbid Western insurers from providing insurance to vessels that violate restrictions on the price of Russian oil. The price ceiling for Russian oil has been set at $60 per barrel.

The EU suspects Russia of using a shadow fleet of vessels for transporting oil, and such vessels often do not have insurance for accidents, the FT said. This threatens European countries with serious financial and environmental harm in the event accidents involving such vessels occur in European waters.

A unanimous decision of all 27 EU countries will be needed to include tankers in the sanctions list, Latvian Foreign Minister Baiba Braze said.