Britain targets Russia’s shadow fleet with new sanctions
UK Prime Minister Announces New Sanctions Against Over 100 Ships Accused of Transporting Russian Oil Despite International Bans
According to a report by the international economics section of Webangah News Agency, citing Tasnim News Agency and Politico, UK prime Minister Keir Starmer stated that Britain has imposed new sanctions on more than 100 vessels accused of transporting russian oil in violation of international restrictions.
In a press release issued on Friday, the British government revealed that these tankers have moved over £18 billion worth of Russian oil since the start of 2024, breaching limits imposed after russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
Russia has attempted to circumvent economic sanctions by creating a “shadow fleet”—comprising often aging ships with obscure ownership and unclear insurance—to continue its oil exports.
Starmer,speaking ahead of the Joint Expeditionary Force (JEF) meeting in Oslo,emphasized that this move would further pressure moscow:
“The threat Russia poses to our national security must not be underestimated. That is why we are deploying every tool to dismantle its shadow fleet operations, deprive its war machine of oil revenues, and protect the subsea infrastructure we rely on daily.”
The new UK sanctions package also targets vessels accused of damaging critical undersea infrastructure. Blacklisted tankers are now banned from British ports and risk seizure if they enter UK waters. similar measures were adopted during the previous JEF summit in December 2024 against the Kremlin.
