“Sovcomflot” renamed the tankers that got under US sanctions

Sovcomflot, which is Russia’s largest shipping company, renamed its oil tankers after they were hit by US sanctions.

Thus, the Russian company renamed at least four sanctioned vessels, Bloomberg  reports.

In addition to the names, the tankers also changed their flags – from the Russian Federation to Gabon.

Four renamings are currently known: “Kemerovo” instead of “NS Columbus”, “Belgorod” instead of “NS Bravo”, “Kaliningrad” instead of “NS Captain” and “Krasnoyarsk” instead of “NS Creation”.

Tankers often change names after sanctions are imposed to distance themselves from listings in sanctions databases. However, renamed vessels can still be identified by International Maritime Organization (IMO) numbers.

According to Clarkson Research Services Ltd., Sovcomflot remains the world’s largest owner of Aframax tankers, each of which can carry about 700,000 barrels of oil.

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