China's "Shandong Port Group" port operator has closed its ports to tankers from Russia's "shadow fleet," which are under U.S. sanctions.

Axar.az reports that this information comes from Reuters, citing sources among oil traders.

Shandong Port oversees major ports on China's east coast including Qingdao, Rizhao and Yantai, which are major terminals for importing sanctioned oil.

Notably, Shandong Province is a primary route for importing oil from Russia, Venezuela, and Iran. Last year, the province accounted for approximately 17% of all oil imports to China.

Traders note that the ban will increase the transportation costs of Russian oil to Shandong's independent refineries.

However, the restriction applies only to tankers from the "shadow fleet" subject to U.S. sanctions. Unfortunately, most of this fleet has so far managed to evade sanctions.