Six Russian tankers still under construction at Russia's Zvezda shipyard have been sanctioned by the United States. This is the first time that Washington has banned tankers before they even set sail.

Energy producers have rushed to lock in oil prices since the United States announced its harshest sanctions yet on Russian energy trade on Friday, which sent oil prices surging to multi-month highs, market participants said.

On Jan. 10, the U.S. Treasury announced fresh measures to deplete Russia's energy revenues, including on 183 vessels, largely oil tankers.

Oil prices on the New York fuel exchange remain high due to concerns about threats to the global supply of this resource, with U.S. oil reserves experiencing the longest series of declines since 2021,