Sanctions
Sanctions against Russia in response to the country’s invasion of Ukraine continue to mount, while the US administration is reportedly weighing options on both Iranian and Venezuelan sanctions to address the energy gap created by restrictions on Russian oil and gas imports. Lloyd’s List examines the impact of this sanctions and the pain of them on the shipping industry and wider implications for the maritime community including finance, insurance, law and government.
Baltic and Arctic are newest AIS interference hotspots
The disruption largely impacts vessels trading out of Russian ports but is also hitting ships sailing into and out of neighbouring areas like Poland
Shadow fleet tankers remain in recycling limbo as sanctions prevent sales
Ageing VLCCs Artemis III and Itaugua are stranded off the coast of Bangladesh as local letter of credit transacting banks are unwilling to negotiate on tonnage in violation of international laws
Gambia’s dark fleet gambit sees detentions and sanctions surge
Gambia’s flag registry grew greatly by carrying capacity since 2023, fuelled by injection of dark fleet vessels, most of which are currently under US, EU, or UK sanctions
German seizure of sanctioned tanker ‘not yet legally finalised’
German media outlet Der Spiegel reported that authorities had confiscated the tanker and its cargo, but customs measures are yet to be finalised, Lloyd’s List understands
‘Maximum pressure’ ramps up as Ofac sanctions Chinese ‘teapot’ refinery
The US ramped up the pressure on Iran and purchasers of its oil on Thursday, imposing fresh sanctions on a Chinese ‘teapot’ refinery in Shandong province. Eight tankers and 13 companies and individuals were also designated
Syria’s online seaborne trade reaches new highs
February was a record-setting month in terms of ‘on the radar’ activity with 34 arrivals captured using AIS data, but when accounting for dark activity trade remains at normal levels
Suezmax and LR rates rise amid the ongoing geopolitical ‘noise’
Mid-sized tanker demand is on the upswing, buoying rates for suezmax crude tankers and LR1 and LR2 product tankers. The outlook remains as uncertain as ever, to both the upside and downside, given how the geopolitical backdrop for tanker trades could change
Sanctioned Indonesian tug operator says it will fight designation
The US sanctioned three Indonesian tug operators last week for assisting in STS transfers of Iranian petroleum. One of the companies now says the sanction-skirting tug cited by the US is actually chartered out to another entity, and plans to appeal the designation
Ofac targets ‘shadow fleet’ tankers, STS operators, and Iran’s oil minister in latest sanctions
The US has announced its third round of sanctions against Iran since the Trump administration restored its ‘maximum pressure’ aimed at slashing Tehran’s oil exports. The move targeted ‘shadow fleet’ tankers and a trio of tugs that assisted in STS operations
Over half of LPG cargoes claiming Iraqi origin may actually be Iranian
LPG carriers’ widespread use of manipulated AIS signals to simulate loadings in Iraq means insurers, flags, and other providers and counterparties may want to conduct extra due diligence on certain gas tankers claiming to have called in Iraq
EU entities on hook for what non-EU subsidiaries do on Russia sanctions
Shipowners and insurers face lexical challenge of defining ‘strictly necessary’ and ‘best efforts’ under 16th round of regulations
Spoofing goes haywire as gas tanker visits Hindu temple
A US-sanctioned gas tanker’s efforts to fly under the radar by manipulating its AIS failed comically when it appeared to make an inland incursion in India
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