On 12 March 2026, the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) issued Russia related General License 134 (GL 134).

 

GL 134 authorises all transactions ordinarily incident and necessary to the sale, delivery, or off loading of Russian origin crude oil and petroleum products loaded on vessels on or before 12:01 a.m. Eastern Daylight Time on 12 March 2026. The authorisation applies globally and remains in force until 12:01 a.m. EDT on 11 April 2026.

 

It is important the EU and UK Price Caps and other relevant sanctions legislation remain unchanged. 

 

OFAC states that authorised transactions may include activities necessary to complete covered voyages, such as safe docking and anchoring, measures to protect crew health and safety, emergency repairs, environmental mitigation, and maritime services including vessel management, crewing, bunkering, piloting, registration, flagging, insurance, classification and salvage.

 

The licence applies to Russian origin oil cargoes even where produced by sanctioned entities or transported on vessels otherwise subject to U.S. sanctions, provided the activity falls within the express terms of GL 134.

 

The licence does not authorise transactions prohibited under other U.S. sanctions programmes, including any activity involving Iran, the Government of Iran, or Iranian origin goods or services.

 

U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent described GL 134 on X as a “narrowly tailored, short term measure intended to allow oil already in transit to reach market and promote stability in global energy markets.”

 

Find out more about ongoing sanctions and Know-Your-Customer challenges through the Baltic Know Your Customer (KYC) Platform. Click here to access today.