US sanctions relief unlikely to ease tanker crisis, Kpler says

Washington’s reported plans to ease sanctions on shadow fleet tankers may do little to alleviate record freight rates, analytics firm Kpler said. In a post on X, Kpler says that of approximately 160 very large crude carriers (VLCC) sanctioned by the US Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC), only 24 could potentially return to mainstream trade after accounting for vessel age and ownership restrictions. "With war risk, rather than vessel availability alone, driving freight costs in the Middle East Gulf, sanctions relief risks delivering limited commercial benefits while weakening geopolitical leverage," Kpler said.