LONDON, April 30 Reuters A group of Western insurers has said a Russian oil price cap has become unenforceable and only pushed more ships into joining a shadow fleet, delivering one of the harshest rebukes to the measure that had been meant to cut revenue to the Kremlin.

The G7 group of industrialised nations approved a socalled price cap for Russian oil after Washington lobbied to curb the Kremlin39;s revenue amid the war in Ukraine while keeping Russian oil flowing to avoid a an energy price spike.

The cap allows Western shippers and insurers to participate in Russian oil trading as long as oil is sold below 60 per barrel.

The International Group of PI Clubs said in a statement the price cap has had little success since being introduced 2 years ago as Russia has switched to its own fleet as well as ships outside Western oversight.

The statement was submitted as written evidence to a UK parliamentary hearing on Tuesday. The group says it comprises 12 marine thirdparty liability insurers covering 87 of the world39;s oceangoing tonnage.

The oil price cap appears increasingly unenforceable as more ships and associated services move into this parallel trade. We estimate around 800 tankers have already left the International Group Clubs as a direct result of the introduction of the oil price cap, the statement said.

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Reporting by Dmitry Zhdannikov; editing by David Evans

Source Reuters