UK Imposes Largest Sanctions on Russia’s ‘Shadow Fleet’ Funding the War

The United Kingdom has imposed new sanctions against Russia's ‘shadow fleet’, which is used by the aggressor country to circumvent previously imposed EU and US sanctions and continue to finance the Russian army's war in Ukraine. The new sanctions apply to 18 oil tankers and 4 liquefied natural gas tankers that were blocked from accessing UK ports. A Russian gas company was also sanctioned, according to the British government's website.

‘The United Kingdom has imposed the largest package of sanctions to date against Putin's shadowy oil tanker fleet. A further 18 ships of the shadow fleet will be banned from UK ports and will not be able to access the UK's world-leading maritime services, bringing the total number of sanctioned oil tankers to 43,’ the statement said.

The shadow fleet seeks to undermine sanctions and poses a clear and present danger. These include environmental risks, such as oil spills on the coast as a result of gross violations of basic safety standards, as well as risks to the security of global trade, a source of economic growth.

In addition to the sanctions against the shadow fleet, the UK imposed sanctions against 4 more LNG tankers and the Russian gas company JSC RusGazDobycha.  These measures are aimed at limiting Russia's profits.

The day before, a joint investigation by POLITICO and the non-profit journalism group SourceMaterial found at least nine cases of hidden shadow fleet vessels leaving oil spills in global waters since 2021, using satellite imagery from the NGO SkyTruth combined with shipping data from market intelligence company Lloyd's. Swedish Foreign Minister Maria Malmer Stenergaard told POLITICO that Russian ships pose a ‘significant danger’ to the marine environment.

This is a problem that has only become more acute since Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine. With Moscow under Western sanctions, the number of tankers carrying illicit goods and potentially devastating the environment around the world is on the rise. Not only are these vessels creaky and largely unregulated, they are often uninsured, meaning that in the event of a leak or a more serious spill, it would be difficult for the government to hold them accountable.

POLITICO and SourceMaterial have found releases everywhere from Thailand to Vietnam, Italy and Mexico, all linked to the shadowy fleet. The tankers also passed through busy shipping corridors such as the Red Sea and Panama Canal, meaning any serious accident could sever international trade routes.