The US government has urged Turkey to drop its new practice of demanding additional protection and indemnity certification for tankers crossing the Bosphorus.
P&I clubs have refused to comply with the requirement introduced on 1 December, a few days before the West tried to impose a price cap on Russian oil.
The refusal of P&I clubs in the International Group to provide the blanket, ex-ante assurances has caused Turkish authorities to refuse the passage of at least 21 laden tankers through the strait.
US deputy treasury secretary Wally Adeyemo discussed the issue with Turkish deputy foreign minister Sedat Onal on Wednesday.
“The deputy secretary highlighted the fact that the price cap regime only applies to oil of Russian origin and does not necessitate additional checks on ships passing through Turkish territorial waters,” the US Treasury said in a statement.
The statement did not elaborate on Onal’s response.
“Both officials highlighted their shared interest in keeping global energy markets well supplied by creating a simple compliance regime that would permit seaborne oil to transit the Turkish straits,” it said.
“The deputy secretary thanked deputy foreign minister Onal for his commitment to these goals and to quickly addressing any challenges as they arise.”
TradeWinds understands that negotiations are underway to resolve the impasse.
Citing a more complex situation since the advent of sharpened sanctions against Russia, Turkey has argued that it requires the additional assurances to make sure P&I clubs will pay up in case of accidents and oil leaks in the Bosphorus — a waterway that crosses Istanbul, a city of 20m inhabitants.
According to Turkish media, Moscow is also developing an interest in the matter.
“If the problem is not resolved, we will raise the issue at the political level,” Russian deputy foreign minister Alexander Grushko was quoted as saying.
