IN ONE of its final acts, the Biden administration announced the most aggressive round of shipping sanctions in years on Friday, targeting more than 180 vessels, and dozens of entities and individuals involved in Russian oil and gas trades and production.

The unprecedented move, which targeted a broad array of actors from oil giants such as Gazprom Neft and Surgutneftegas to insurers Ingosstrakh and Alfastrakhovanie, was accompanied by a determination expanding the US’ targeting scope by authorising sanctions against “any persons determined to operate or have operated” in Russia’s energy sector. A similar determination was made in October regarding Iran.

“This action builds on, and strengthens, our focus since the beginning of the war on disrupting the Kremlin’s energy revenues, including through the G7+ price cap launched in 2022,” said Treasury secretary Janet Yellen.

“With today’s actions, we are ratcheting up the sanctions risk associated with Russia’s oil trade, including shipping and financial facilitation in support of Russia’s oil exports.”

The UK has also sanctioned Gazprom Neft and Surgutneftegas, the UK Treasury said. The UK sanctioned Ingosstrakh in June and Alfastrakhovanie in November.

The US sanctions targeted 183 vessels, 155 of which were “tankers that are part of the shadow fleet as well as oil tankers owned by Russia-based fleet operators”, the treasury said. Several also had a history of shipping Iranian oil.

Of the 155 tankers, 41 have already been sanctioned by the UK and/or the EU, and 68 are on Lloyd’s List dark fleet* list, which excludes tankers owned by government entities.

In addition, the US has issued a determination “prohibiting the provision of US petroleum services to persons located in the Russian Federation,” which will take effect February 27. The US Treasury has also issued a general licence authorising certain wind-down transactions related to energy through March 11.

* Lloyd’s List defines a tanker as part of the dark fleet if it is aged 15 years or over, anonymously owned and/or has a corporate structure designed to obfuscate beneficial ownership discovery, solely deployed in sanctioned oil trades, and engaged in one or more of the deceptive shipping practices outlined in US State Department guidance issued in May 2020. The figures exclude tankers tracked to government-controlled shipping entities such as Russia’s Sovcomflot, or Iran’s National Iranian Tanker Co, and those already sanctioned.

Download our explainer on the different risk profiles of the dark fleet here