According to the data of the Russian Financial One, Big Star received its load on May 12-17 near the Zarubino port, where oil was overloaded with three smaller tankers. The unit registered in Panama transports 2.1 million barrels of Russian oil Espo Blend. The ship was to flow from Russia to the Chinese port of Jieyang. However, he was suspended along the way.
According to Reuters, many state oil companies in China are afraid of potential secondary sanctions from the United States if they buy Russian oil affected by sanctions. According to the industry portal Olipirce.com, China only in April 2025 imported 1.96 million barrels of Russian oil daily from Russia. In other words, each day they took one ship the size of Big Star.
After the invasion of Ukraine Beijing did not officially support Moscow and described the conflict as the “Ukrainian crisis”. The Chinese authorities emphasize that they do not provide a deadly weapon of any of the parties, although Ukraine accuses China of providing components for the Russian arms industry
- Putin's “shadow fleet” in legal trouble. Gabon and Barbados are demanding to remove their flags from tankers
Why does Russia have a problem selling its oil?
As a result of Russia's invasion of Ukraine, the G7 countries and the European Union imposed sanctions on Vladimir Putin's country that hinder the legal sales of the raw material. That is why Russia has created a “shadow fleet” that transports their goods under the so -called Cheap flags, masking a country of origin.
