Russian Owned Oil Tanker Diverting from Canada to Caribbean

An oil tanker owned and managed by Russia's largest maritime and freight shipping company, Sovcomflot, which was blacklisted by the United States last week as part of sanctions against Russia, has diverted from its intended destination in Canada to the Caribbean, according to tracking data and a source.

The Liberia-flagged tanker SCF Neva changed course from Canada's Saint John port after the North American nation this week ratcheted up pressure on Russia for its invasion of Ukraine by shutting ports to Russian-owned ships and barring them from Canadian waters.

The Biden administration is considering following Canada in barring Russian ships from U.S. ports, a government official said on Wednesday. Read full story

Russian-flagged ships represent a very small percentage of U.S. traffic, but barring Russian cargo from the United States would have a dramatically larger impact, the source said. It was not clear if the administration is seriously considering that more drastic step.

(Reporting by Marianna Parraga in Houston and Laura Sanicola in Washington; Editing by Kirsten Donovan)