Covert Russian oil discharge in China’s Shandong exposes new US sanctions loophole
- US-sanctioned tanker SI He secretly offloaded Russian oil at Shandong’s Dongying Port
- AIS blackout suggests efforts to bypass sanctions enforcement
- China may be using privately owned terminals to receive sanctioned barrels
A US-blocked oil tanker loaded a crude shipment in Russia’s Far East late last month. With its AIS transponder switched off, it recently docked at a port in China’s Shandong province, where services for sanctioned vessels have reportedly been banned
