UK imposes sanctions on 10 ships in crackdown on Russia’s shadow oil fleet

The UK has taken new steps to clamp down on Russia’s shadow fleet exporting oil and funding Moscow’s war machine, with the Foreign Office announcing sanctions on 10 ships that it believes to be at heart of the operation.

Russia has a large fleet of often unseaworthy and ageing tankers that transport Russian gas and oil products around the globe. Oil exports are Vladimir Putin’s most critical revenue source for funding the war in Ukraine, accounting for about a quarter of the Russian budget in 2023.

Speaking on his way to Kyiv to meet Ukrainian leaders, the UK foreign secretary, David Lammy, said: “Putin’s war machine is funded by a dark and illicit economic system that this government is committed to destabilising.

“Today’s sanctions further undermine Russia’s ability to trade in oil via its shadow fleet. Alongside our partners, we will continue to send a stark message to Russia that the international community stands with Ukraine and we will not tolerate this illicit fleet.

“Russia has been forced to spend over $8bn amassing this shadow fleet. But with sanctioned tankers loitering and unable to load oil, we are determined to make Putin’s investment an expensive misstep for the Kremlin. Our action will help to counter Russian attempts to undermine and dodge economic sanctions.”

The ships targeted are all described as “high-volume offenders” – vessels operating around the clock to transport as much Russian oil as possible. These ships will now be barred from entering UK ports and will be refused access to the UK ship register.

Just three of the vessels targeted, Nikolay Zuyev, NS Asia and Zaliv Aniva, have collectively carried more than $5bn worth of Russian oil since Russia’s full scale invasion of Ukraine began in February 2022.

The large and recently developed shadow fleet has become the biggest loophole in western efforts to prevent Russia continuing to fund its war through oil exports.

In an effort to stop the revenue, but also prevent the price of oil skyrocketing, the G7 agreed to block insurance to any ship that sold oil at above a cap of $60 a barrel. The shadow fleet has grown to circumvent the G7 policy, but analysts have said a relatively small number of ships are at the heart of the operation.

The UK claims that previous sanctions against individual shadow ships have left vessels materially disrupted, with the vast majority of them idling outside ports, and unable to carry on their trade in Russian oil.

The latest announcement brings the total number of shadow fleet ships targeted to 25 and follows the UK’s “call to action” in July to bring a halt to the trade.

So far, sanctions have deprived Russia of more than $400bn worth of assets and revenues since February 2022. That is the equivalent of four more years of funding for the invasion. The UK has targeted more than 2,000 individuals and entities under its Russia sanctions regime.

The specified ships will be prohibited from entering a port in the UK, may be given a movement or a port entry direction, can be detained, and will be refused permission to register on the UK ship register.