Cyprus joins Greece, Malta in shipping register losses from embargo on Russia

Cyprus has lost 20% of its oil tanker tonnage as a result of the European Union’s sanctions on Russia relating to crude oil, Cypriot Shipping Deputy Minister Vasilis Demetriades said on Tuesday.

He told state-run CyBC radio that since the EU announced its intention to impose a ban on seaborne Russian oil on October 6, tankers of 900,000 gross tonnage, or 20% of Cyprus’ tanker tonnage, have been struck off the country’s registry.

This represents about 10% of the total ship tonnage under the Cypriot registry, he said.

Two other EU countries with large shipping registries, Greece and Malta, are understood to have suffered even bigger losses.

“We have asked the European Commission to adopt compensatory measures to offset the losses to all shipping countries caused by the punitive measures imposed on Russia in response to its military operations against Ukraine,” he said.

A ban on imports by EU countries on seaborne Russian oil and a cap of $60 per barrel on the price Russian oil both came into effect on Monday.

Demetriades said that Cyprus is preparing and by the end of January will submit specific proposals for the compensation of countries that suffered shipping losses.

“We are doing our utmost to ensure the sanctions are effective, but also to protect the shipping sector,” he said. [Xinhua]