Britain imposes sanctions against Russian tankers

The UK has today unleashed the largest package of sanctions to date against "Putin’s shadow fleet of oil tankers", 18 more shadow fleet ships will be barred from UK ports and unable to access world-leading British maritime services, bringing the total number of oil tankers sanctioned to 43, Report informs, citing the UK Government.

"The shadow fleet seeks to undermine sanctions and poses a clear and present danger. Environmental risks, such as oil spills, on our coastlines as a result of its flagrant violation of basic safety standards, but also risks to the security of global trade – the lifeblood of economic growth.

At the European Political Community Summit in July, the Prime Minister announced the shadow fleet call to action. Today the US and Canada have joined 44 European countries plus the EU in working together to tackle the risks posed by the shadow fleet.

The UK’s relentless action against the shadow fleet is putting grit into the system and starving Putin’s war machine of crucial revenues. The oil tankers targeted today have transported an estimated $4.9 billion in the last year alone. A significant number of the ships targeted by the UK to date have been forced to sit idling uselessly outside ports across the world, unable to continue pouring money into Putin’s war chest.

Sovcomflot, Russia’s largest shipping company, has been left desperately scrambling to rename and offload its vessels to dodge UK sanctions. Today we have targeted even more of its ships, further turning the screw on the mechanisms the Kremlin uses to fund its illegal war.

Alongside action against the shadow fleet, the UK is sanctioning 4 more LNG tankers and Russian gas company Rusgazdobycha JSC. We are continuing to ratchet up pressure on the beleaguered Russian gas industry, with flagship company Gazprom posting a significant net loss of $6.9 billion in 2023 - its first annual loss in more than 20 years," the UK Government said in a press statement.