EU agrees more sanctions on ‘Putin’s shadow fleet’
New sanctions by the European Union to reportedly target 73 vessels
The EU has agreed its 16th package of sanctions on Russia, which will target ‘more vessels in Putin’s shadow fleet’ and impose ‘new import and export bans’, according to EU Commission president Ursula von der Leyen
THE European Union has agreed its 16th package of sanctions on Russia, targeting the dark fleet* ferrying its energy exports, and introducing new bans on imports and exports.
The package will include 73 tankers and is expected to be adopted by EU foreign ministers on Monday to mark the third anniversary of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Reuters reported.
“The EU is clamping down even harder on circumvention by targeting more vessels in Putin’s shadow fleet and imposing new import and export bans,” EU Commission president Ursula von der Leyen said on X.
“We are committed to keep up the pressure on the Kremlin.”
The latest package will also increase the EU’s targeting scope to include owners and operators of dark fleet tankers, and captains, according to Reuters. Imports of Russian aluminum and exports of gaming consoles and equipment — said to be used by Russian drone operators — will also reportedly be banned.
The 73 vessels set to be sanctioned will join 79 ships previously blacklisted by the EU. The UK has sanctioned over 100 vessels, mostly tankers shipping Russian oil, since it first started designating tankers in July 2024. The US has blocked about 200 Russia-linked tankers and dozens of other vessels since August 2023, including 155 tankers on January 10.
The EU’s move comes after the US held talks in Riyadh this week with Russia over a potential resolution to the war. Ukraine was excluded from the talks.
Asked by reporters on Tuesday whether Russia asked for sanctions relief, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said that the sanctions “are all the result of this conflict”.
“And so I would say to you that in order to bring an end to any conflict there has to be concessions made by all sides,” he said.
“We’re not going to predetermine what those are. We’re certainly not going to negotiate this today or at a press conference for that matter.
“But – and there are other parties that have sanctions. The European Union is going to have to be at the table at some point because they have sanctions as well that have been imposed.”
* 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.
