EU sanctions 41 more vessels and confirms LNG exemption
Owners must also now notify the EU of sales of LNG tankers to third countries
The bloc’s 21st sanctions package lets European shipowners transport Russian LNG to third countries for another year
ANOTHER 41 vessels have been listed under the EU’s 21st Sanctions Package, confirmed by Brussels today.
The bloc has expanded the listing criteria to include vessels that service shadow fleet* ships. As a result, five bunkering tankers that have “regularly refuelled already-designated tankers” have been designated, the European Commission said.
Alongside those sanctioned vessels is confirmation of an exemption to ship Russian LNG to third countries.
As Lloyd’s List reported yesterday, Greece used its veto to secure the exemption before it assented to the package, which EU member states must unanimously agree. Athens-based Dynagas has several vessels on charter to Russia’s giant Yamal LNG project.
The package confirms that the transfer of Russian LNG to third countries will be permissible for one year, but volumes cannot exceed what was transported in 2025 and the transfer must be part of a long-term contract lasting more than a year and signed before February 24, 2022.
Also new in this latest raft of sanctions is an obligation for owners to inform the EU member state they reside in of any sale of LNG tankers to third countries.
The legal text says a full ban on LNG tanker sales to Russia will be reviewed by the European Commission by October 25, 2026.
If a ban does enter into force, owners will also be expected to take reasonable steps to ensure LNG tankers sold to third countries do not end up in Russian hands anyway, through resale or proxy ownership.
The package also keeps the Russian crude price cap at $44.10, stopping a scheduled automatic adjustment that would have increased the cap. The change was delayed until July next year to “ensure that Russia does not benefit from the closure of the Strait of Hormuz”.
As Lloyd’s List reported earlier this year, the maritime services ban remains shelved.
The vessels confirmed sanctioned on Friday are: Abinsk (IMO: 9303869), Abrau (IMO: 9422964), Admiral (IMO: 9274446), Akkord (IMO: 9259599), Albedo (IMO: 9213313), Aleksey Kosygin (IMO: 9904546), Alexander Nevskiy (IMO: 9356610), Anaya (IMO: 9326885), Andrey Pervozvanniy (IMO: 9255268), Bellaris (IMO: 9332614), Bilal Bey (IMO: 8984848), Body (IMO: 7808401), Dakar (IMO: 9251743), Damas Wave (IMO: 8915299), Daphne V (IMO: 9321677), Eridan (IMO: 9157002), Flint Wind (IMO: 9314179), G. Rossini (IMO: 9156981), Irkutsk (IMO: 9419084), Irtysh (IMO: 9664976), Kord Arctic (IMO: 9036272), Korsakov (IMO: 8724793), Krasnodar (IMO: 9296781), Kumana (IMO: 9809538), Lady Jasmine (IMO: 1031537), Luch (IMO: 9317315), Midvolga-3 (IMO: 9735141), Ocean Fortune 18 (IMO: 1064493), Orenburg (IMO: 9687992), Pallada (IMO: 9250050), Perun (IMO: 9582776), Pioneer (IMO: 9255282), Port Olya-3 (IMO: 9481910), Sanrayz (IMO: 8862935), Solstraum (IMO: 9157014), Stormbringer (IMO: 9290397), Svyatoi Knyaz Vladimir (IMO: 9838864), Tavian (IMO: 9147447), Vasily Surikov (IMO: 9645023), Virent (IMO: 9332171), Yehope (IMO: 9243320)
