Concerns are centered around a scenario in which insurers discover that oil in transit at sea, which was believed to have been sold below the price cap, was in fact sold above it.

This would trigger the withdrawal of insurance cover as well as a refusal by buyers to accept delivery, leading to financial and logistical headaches and risking environmental dangers.

"If the time is too short, I think everyone will have a Plan B to de-risk, terminate, stay away, not maybe conclude any new contracts until there is some clarity," said George Voloshin, Global Anti-Financial Crime Expert at ACAMS, the Association of Certified Anti-Money Laundering Specialists which consults with oil industry bankers, traders and insurers.

If insurance was withdrawn mid-voyage, buyers and traders would have to figure out what to do with a stranded cargo potentially exposed to sanctions, complicating a strategy to deprive Russia of funds over its invasion of Ukraine.

Although the EU ratified the price cap last month, insurers point to still unpublished legal details which must align with incomplete but more detailed U.S. Treasury guidance, especially over guarantees that insurers will not face surprise obstacles in the middle of a ship's voyage.

"We need regulation in the G7 community, which is similar, that is, the U.S. - where we have interim guidelines in the meantime - the U.K. and the EU," said Lars Lange, secretary general of the International Union of Marine Insurance (IUMI).

"We fear that if we get different regulations from these three 'sanction islands' we will struggle to comply with all at the same time," Lange said, adding that any vessels which are spurned by ports pose serious consequences....

MEANWHILE S&P Global, for one, continues to exclude from G7 benchmark indices  reported settlements of "Russian-origin" gas, oil, and petroleum product as well as amend "dirty" tanker flat or float rates, depending on phase of the moon.

CNBC | Janet Yellen pitches more friendshoring opportunities for India: What it means, 11 Nov

Time and again, the US has asked India to align with them against Russia,  primarily with respect to transitioning away from buying oil from Russia. India imports 85 percent of its crude needs and has emerged as Russia's second-largest oil customer after China, taking advantage of discounted Russian oil shunned by some Western buyers.

On Tuesday, India's Foreign minister S. Jaishankar backed India's increasing oil imports from Russia. He said that energy ties with Moscow have worked to India's advantage and that it's in India's interest to keep the imports going.

US Treasury Secretary suggested ["]friendshoring["] to protect international supply networks against interruption or economic pressure from outside sources.
[...]
With the cooperation of countries that share the same ideology, the US seeks to minimise its reliance on autocratic governments for critical resources like rare earth, magnets, and other items that can be utilised for military purposes. Additionally, the effort would look to diversify away from Russian producers of vital commodities, notably energy, food, and fertiliser...