US blocks tanker NS Leader and sanctions four firms over price cap breach

The US Treasury on 8 February sanctioned four companies and blocked the Gabon-flagged crude tanker NS Leader over what it says was a breach of the Russian oil price cap. According to Treasury, UAE-based Zeenit Supply and Trading DMCC sold Russian Urals crude in November 2023 at more than $80 a barrel, carried on the NS Leader using US services. Also designated were UAE-based Talassa Shipping DMCC; the tanker's Liberia-registered owner NS Leader Shipping Incorporated, which Treasury says is ultimately owned by the Russian government; and its UAE-based manager Oil Tankers SCF Mgmt FZCO. Treasury says the ship made five calls at Russian ports in 2023.

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