Record Freight Costs Squeeze Russia's Black Sea Crude Exports

By Charles Kennedy - Sep 14, 2026, 10:00 AM CDT Aframax freight rates out of Novorossiysk rose for a seventh straight week, up 2.7% to India and 3.1% to China. Shipping crude to India now costs $23.20 a barrel and to China $25.70 a barrel, the highest ever on those routes. A tanker shortage, driven by vessels tied up in the Middle East and Baltic Sea, plus Ukrainian strikes on Novorossiysk, are pushing rates higher. Heightened shipping threats from Ukrainian attacks and a shortage of tankers have pushed the freight costs for Russia’s crude oil exports from the Black Sea to record highs.In the week to September 6, the key tanker rate for shipping crude oil on an Aframax from the Black Sea port of Novorossiysk to West India and North China rose for the seventh straight week, by 2.7% and 3.1% from the week prior, respectively, Russian daily Kommersant reported on Monday, citing local pricing indexes.The cost to ship crude to India is now $23.20 per barrel while the freight costs from Novorossiysk to China is $25.70 a barrel, according to the latest price reporting week.These are the highest export costs for Russia’s oil from the Black Sea to Asia ever, analysts say, after a seven-week-long rally in freight costs.Set OilPrice.com as a preferred source in Google here.The higher shipping risks and insurance costs, as well as lower tanker availability for the routes out of Novorossiysk, have been pushing shipping costs higher in recent months, analysts tell Kommersant.A lot of tankers have moved or are tied up on lengthier journeys in the Middle East, while the Baltic Sea also sees a shortage of vessels to ship Russia’s flagship Urals grade from Russia’s northwestern Baltic ports.As a result, the price of shipping crude out of the Black Sea has soared.Yet, profits are still being made amid the rally in international crude oil prices.Over the past year, Ukraine has targeted and hit Russia’s key Black Sea oil port Novorossiysk multiple times as it aims to stifle Russian oil exports and revenues for the Kremlin.Some of the attacks have caused damages that necessitated temporary suspension of oil loadings at Novorossiysk and the nearby export terminal of the Caspian Pipeline Consortium (CPC), which loads oil from Kazakhstan for exports from the Black Sea.By Charles Kennedy for Oilprice.comMore Top Reads From Oilprice.comSoaring Oil Prices Put Fed on Track for September Rate HikeMiddle East Oil Routes Under Pressure as Hormuz Traffic TumblesThe Problem With Trying to Bypass Hormuz Using Pipelines Download The Free Oilprice App Today Back to homepage