UK sanctions 10 ‘shadow fleet’ tankers shipping Russian oil
Ships targeted are ‘high-volume offenders’, says UK government
The UK has announced its third round of shipping sanctions, targeting 10 tankers it says are part of Russia’s ‘shadow fleet’. All 10 are managed by the same UAE-based company, Lloyd’s List Intelligence data shows, and were previously managed by sanctioned Sovcomflot entities
THE UK announced fresh sanctions on Wednesday targeting 10 tankers it accused of using “illicit practices” to skirt sanctions on Russian oil.
The move comes a day after a joint action by the US and the UK saw 13 vessels, mostly general cargoships, sanctioned in relation to arms transfers from Iran to Russia.
The UK said that the ships targeted on Wednesday “are all ‘high-volume offenders’ — operating around the clock to transport as much Russian oil as possible”.
All 10 tankers are managed by United Arab Emirates-based Stream Ship Management FZCO, according to Lloyd’s List Intelligence data.
The company was founded in 2023, and has 46 tankers in its fleet, including 16 that were sanctioned before Wednesday. All 10 tankers sanctioned today were previously managed by sanctioned Sovcomflot entities, according to Lloyd’s List Intelligence data. Nine are flagged by Gabon, and one is flagged by Panama.
Three of tankers — Nikolay Zuyev (IMO: 9610781), NS Asia (IMO: 9413561), Zaliv Aniva (IMO: 9418494) — moved as much as $5bn of Russian oil since Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022, the UK said.
“Russia has been forced to spend over $8bn amassing this shadow fleet,” said UK foreign secretary David Lammy.
“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 government said that sanctions “have deprived Russia of over $400bn worth of assets and revenues since February 2022.”
Wednesday’s action brings the tally of tankers sanctioned by the UK to 25.
The other seven tankers designated on Wednesday were NS Clipper (IMO: 9341081), NS Corona (IMO: 9341079), Olympiysky Prospect (IMO: 9511387), Leonid Loza (IMO: 9412347), SCF Baltica (IMO: 9305568), SCF Vankor (IMO: 9316127), and Vladimir Tikhonov (IMO: 9311622).
