UK imposes sanctions on Russia’s “shadow fleet”

18 October, 2024 Tanker Aruna Gulcay. Photo: aruna.com.tr The UK announced a package of sanctions against the Russian Federation's "shadow fleet" of oil tankers.

European Pravda announced this. The new sanctions affect 18 Russian oil tankers and four liquefied natural gas tankers. The UK has unleashed the largest package of sanctions to date against Putin's shadow fleet of oil tankers.

"18 more shadow fleet ships will be barred from the UK ports and unable to access the world-leading British maritime services, bringing the total number of oil tankers sanctioned to 43," the statement reads. The oil tankers targeted today have transported an estimated £4.9 billion in the last year alone. Sovcomflot, a Russia's largest shipping company, has been left desperately scrambling to rename and offload its vessels to dodge the UK sanctions.

The current sanctions therefore target even more of its ships. Alongside action against the shadow fleet, the UK is sanctioning 4 more LNG tankers and a Russian gas company Rusgazdobycha JSC. The full list is published on the official website of the British government.

The day before, a joint investigation by Politico and SourceMaterial revealed at least nine cases of oil spills from such vessels since 2021, as reported in an article by Ekonomichna Pravda. These cases were recorded in countries such as Thailand, Vietnam, Italy, and Mexico.

The route of two tankers Aruna Gulcay and Innova of the shadow fleet. Image: Politico

Such slicks are often the result of the sludge discharges, a mixture of oil and water that is generated during the ship operations.

The fact that this substance is visible from space also indicates the presence of oil. In addition, such ships often turn off their transponders to avoid being tracked. The detected oil spills are just the tip of the iceberg, as most incidents go unnoticed.

The spill incidents from the tankers Innova and Aruna Gulcay off the coast of Italy demonstrate the scale of the problem: Aruna Gulcay left behind an oil slick 47 km long.