UK Sanctions 100 Russian Tankers Tied to $24 Billion in Oil Exports Amid Oslo Security Summit
In a bold escalation of economic pressure on Moscow, the United Kingdom has announced sanctions on up to 100 Russian oil tankers associated with the so-called “shadow fleet” – vessels operating outside global regulatory frameworks to circumvent embargoes. The move coincides with a high-stakes summit of the Joint Expeditionary Force (JEF), hosted in Oslo, Norway.
The Gaze reports on this with reference to Reuters.
According to Downing Street, these tankers have transported an estimated $24 billion worth of crude oil since early 2024. Some of the vessels are also suspected of involvement in sabotage activities targeting undersea infrastructure, including energy pipelines and communication cables in the Baltic Sea – actions that have raised alarms among Nordic and Baltic governments.
Prime Minister Keir Starmer is expected to formally unveil the sanctions at the JEF summit, describing them as the UK’s most extensive response yet to Russia’s maritime circumvention tactics.
“We are determined to dismantle Putin’s shadow fleet, choke off the Kremlin’s war revenues, and defend the subsea systems that are critical to our national and regional security,” Starmer said in a pre-summit statement.
The new measures are likely to restrict the movement of the targeted ships and limit their access to British ports, insurers, and service providers, further isolating Russia’s energy export capabilities.
The JEF, a British-led coalition formed in 2014, comprises 10 northern European nations, including Denmark, Finland, Sweden, and the Netherlands. It serves as a flexible defense and security platform complementary to NATO. Many member states have played an active role in supporting Ukraine militarily and politically since Russia’s full-scale invasion in 2022.
The UK’s action signals a broader Western shift toward targeting the opaque logistics behind Russia’s wartime economy.
As The Gaze reported earlier, the Ministries of Justice of Ukraine and the United Kingdom have signed a memorandum of cooperation in the field of justice.