New EU and UK sanctions target Russia's shadow fleet of tankers illicitly transporting oil

Sanctions target Russia

Photo: AP Photo, File

FILE - An oil tanker is moored at the Sheskharis complex, part of Chernomortransneft JSC, a subsidiary of Transneft PJSC, in Novorossiysk, Russia, on Oct. 11, 2022. 

The European Union on Tuesday agreed to impose fresh sanctions on Russia, notably targeting almost 200 ships from the shadow fleet illicitly transporting oil to skirt Western restrictions put in place over Moscow's war in Ukraine.

The 27-nation bloc targeted 189 ships in all, and imposed asset freezes and travel bans on several officials as well as on a number of Russian companies. The measures were endorsed by EU foreign ministers in Brussels.

EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said that while President Vladimir “Putin feigns interest in peace, more sanctions are in the works. Russia’s actions and those who enable Russia face severe consequences.”

Russia uses its “ shadow fleet ” of ships to transport oil and gas, or to carry stolen Ukrainian grain. The EU has now targeted almost 350 of the ships in total.

The new measures are not obviously linked to Russian delays in agreeing to a ceasefire. Work on the measures began in the days after the last package was finalized three months ago.

Ukrainian officials have said that the shadow fleet involves around 500 aging ships of uncertain ownership and safety practices that are dodging sanctions and keeping the oil revenue coming.

Ratings agency S&P Global and the Kyiv School of Economics Institute, a think tank, have put the number at over 400 ships that can transport oil, or products made from crude such as diesel fuel and gasoline.

Vessels from the shadow fleet have also come under suspicion of damaging undersea cables, particularly in the Baltic Sea. Finnish police on Dec. 26 seized the Eagle S, a tanker they said was part of the dark fleet, on suspicion it used its anchor to damage the Estlink 2 undersea power cable that supplies electricity from Finland to Estonia.

The EU also said that it targeted people and companies, including an insurer, that make it possible for the shadow fleet to operate, hitting interests in the United Arab Emirates, Turkey and Hong Kong.

In parallel, the U.K. targeted the shadow fleet in a raft of 100 new sanctions that it said are aimed at “ramping up pressure” on the Kremlin.

In a statement Tuesday, Britain’s Foreign Office said the sanctions will hit entities supporting Russia’s military, energy exports and information war, as well as financial institutions helping to fund its war against Ukraine.

It added that the sanctions will target the supply chains of Russian weapons, including Iskander missiles which have been fired into civilian areas in Ukraine during the war. The U.K. will also sanction 18 more ships in the “shadow fleet” carrying Russian oil.

“Putin’s latest strikes once again show his true colors as a warmonger,” Foreign Secretary David Lammy said. “We urge him to agree a full, unconditional ceasefire right away so there can be talks on a just and lasting peace.”

The EU has slapped several rounds of sanctions on Russia since President Vladimir Putin ordered his troops into Ukraine on Feb. 24, 2022. Around 2,400 officials and “entities” — often government agencies, banks and organizations — have been hit.