Did your customer pay too much for Russian oil?

That is the question US officials will expect maritime companies to answer as Washington looks to enforce a price cap on Russian crude and products, the latest swipe at Moscow over its invasion of Ukraine.

The US treasury department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (Ofac) dropped weekend reading late last Friday for shipping’s sanctions watchers by publishing preliminary guidance on how the price cap agreed by the G7 and the European Union will apply to maritime service providers.