Russia Boosts Use of Sanctioned Tankers to Export Its Oil

Over the past weeks, Russia has been using a growing number of oil tankers sanctioned by the West to export its oil, in a move suggesting that Moscow has become more successful in defying U.S. and EU restrictions. A total of six oil tankers sanctioned by the U.S., the EU, or the UK loaded oil cargoes from Russia in August, and at least another six have done the same so far in September, according to tanker-tracking data compiled by Bloomberg.

The data showed that at least 17 sanctioned tankers have left Russian ports loaded with oil since the end…