EU steps up action against Russia’s shadow fleet

Brussels (dpa) – The foreign ministers of the EU states have decided on new sanctions against companies and individuals with links to the so-called Russian shadow fleet. As the Council of Member States announced, the punitive measures affect shipping companies based in the United Arab Emirates, in Vietnam and in Russia. In addition, businesspeople who are directly or indirectly connected to the major state-owned Russian oil companies Rosneft and Lukoil are being sanctioned. 

The affected actors must now have any assets they hold in the EU frozen. In addition, EU citizens and companies are prohibited from making funds available to them. An EU entry ban is also being imposed on the affected individuals.

In the coming days, around 40 additional tankers are also to be added to the list of ships that are no longer allowed to call at European ports and can no longer be insured. This would mean that in future around 600 ships would be affected by punitive measures. The list is to be updated monthly in future, said the EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs Kaja Kallas at a press conference following the meeting of foreign ministers.

Shadow fleet is Russia’s response to oil price cap

Through the so-called shadow fleet, Moscow has for years been trying to circumvent a price cap on Russian oil introduced by Western supporters of Ukraine. To this end, mostly outdated ships and various methods are used to conceal the origin of oil cargoes. Sometimes the transponder of the satellite-based automatic ship identification system (AIS) is switched off or manipulated, and sometimes oil is transferred between tankers on the high seas.

The German Minister of State for Europe at the Federal Foreign Office, Gunther Krichbaum, said the threat posed by the shadow fleet was palpable. That is why action must continue to be taken against it. Krichbaum had traveled to Brussels for the EU meeting as a representative of the German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul. (15 December)