SANCTIONS against Russia are about to be tightened once again and this time shipping is very much the focus from regulators both in the US and the European Union.

US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen has been in Japan this week ahead of forthcoming Group of Seven talks, where she is talking up Washington’s intention to crack down on Russia’s ability to skirt sanctions.

Meanwhile, over in Kyiv, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen has been ramping up the rhetoric and promising that the forthcoming 11th package of sanctions measures will also target those companies and countries circumventing measures. 

Of course, much of this has been on the cards for some time. Lloyd’s List subscribers knew about the commission’s plans to target ships repeatedly turning off Automatic Identification System signals and engaging in ship-to-ship transfers as part of a programme of sanctions skirting a full two weeks before the mainstream press started reporting it this week. But the Lloyd’s List Podcast is focusing on this latest regulator crackdown this week because the details of what both the EU and US are about to agree is likely to have significant effect on shipping.

Lloyd’s List understands that the draft plan is to use the existing EU port ban wording as the mechanism, which effectively means enforcement would fall to the ports. But the detailed wording and guidance is going to be crucial. Senior industry sources are very concerned about how this is going play out because there are so many ways this could get very complicated for the industry (particularly for the ports).

To help host Richard Meade interpret the political signals and explain the practical consequences of what this all means for shipping, Lloyd’s List’s resident queen of sanctions and uncoverer-in-chief of deceptive and dodgy shipping practices, Michelle Wiese Bockmann, joins the podcast this week.