The US has sanctioned a UAE shipping company for violating Russian crude oil pricing regulations. (Source: Bloomberg)

The company violated the regulation on the ceiling price of 60 USD/barrel for Russian crude oil exports.

In a statement, the US Treasury Department said the Office of Foreign Assets Control sanctions were imposed on Hennesea Shipping Co Ltd, the company believed to be the owner of 18 oil tankers, mostly older, purchased in late 2022.

According to the ministry, it had previously determined that one of the company's vessels, HS Atlantica, had transported crude oil originating from Moscow at a price above the ceiling of $60 while using the maritime services of a US-based company.

The move effectively bars Hennesea Holdings from conducting transactions in US dollars, placing the company on a specially designated entity list.

The price ceiling for Russian crude oil, led by the Group of Seven leading industrialized countries (G7), will be applied in December 2022, aiming to reduce Russia's revenue for the special military operation in Ukraine.

Russia's oil export revenue in December fell to a six-month low due to falling oil prices, according to the International Energy Agency (IEA).

The agency said that Russian oil discounts rose and benchmark prices fell, resulting in lower revenues even as the country increased its oil exports abroad to 7.8 million barrels per day, the highest since March 2023.