UK targets 30 tankers in its largest sanctions package against Russia's 'shadow fleet'

The United Kingdom sanctioned 30 oil tankers of Russia's "shadow fleet" that carried billions of dollars worth of oil and oil products last year, the government said on Nov. 25.

"Oil revenues are a crucial source of funding for the Kremlin’s illegal war in Ukraine," the Foreign Office said in a statement.

The latest sanctions follow Moscow’s efforts to evade the West's attempts to stifle its oil revenues through the $60-per-barrel price cap imposed two years ago.

"Constraining these revenues, including by cracking down on the companies that insure these vessels, is vital for maintaining our shared security: degrading the Kremlin’s war machine, clearing our shipping lanes of unsafe traffic, and protecting our international trade to make room for growth.” the statement added.

The sanctions expand the number of U.K.-sanctioned Russian vessels to 73, the biggest batch of sanctioned ships by a single Western country. The EU and U.S. have also targeted Russia's shadow fleet in previous rounds of sanctions, applying restrictions to individual tankers and shipping services.

Russia has invested $10 billion to expand its shadow fleet since 2022, according to the Kyiv School of Economics (KSE) Insititute. The fleet consists of old and poorly insured tankers that carried two-thirds of Russia's seaborne crude oil exports last year, the report showed.

70% of Russian oil shipped by shadow fleet, posing environment risk, report says

Russia’s “shadow fleet” of older and poorly insured tankers transports 70% of the country’s seaborne exports, according to an analysis published by the Kyiv School of Economics (KSE) Insititute on Oct. 14.

The Kyiv IndependentMartin Fornusek

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