Ukraine imposes sanctions against 700 tankers of the Russian “shadow fleet”
13 December 19:18
Ukraine has imposed sanctions against nearly 700 tankers from the Russian “shadow fleet” that transports sanctioned Russian oil in violation of the restrictions imposed by the civilized world.
This is reported by "Komersant Ukrainian", citing a message from Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, the website of the President’s Office, and the relevant decree.
Zelensky noted that almost 700 enemy vessels that help the Kremlin finance the war have been subject to Ukraine’s current sanctions. This is the majority of the Russian fleet that transports oil and other energy resources.
“This is the largest sanctions package against tankers and other vessels that serve the aggression. The package includes vessels that fly not only the Russian flag , but also the flags of other states – in particular, more than 50 jurisdictions,” the president said.
Zelenskyy added that Ukraine will force its partners to block every ship, every ship-owning company, and the entire infrastructure of Russian oil exports.
“We support the concept of a complete ban on the provision of maritime services to ships involved in the export of Russian energy. Pressure on Russia and diplomacy to end the war must go hand in hand to achieve the desired result,” he emphasized.
According to the Prosecutor General’s Office, Ukraine has imposed sanctions against 656 ships that are part of Russia’s “shadow fleet.” It is noted that this is the largest sanctions package against Russian tankers and other vessels.
Ukraine also monitored the Black, Red and Baltic Seas and identified every vessel used by the Russians. The vessel owners ordered the Automatic Identification System to be turned off and used “gray schemes” to conceal ownership and origin of the cargo.
“The sanctioned vessels were flying the flags of more than 50 countries, most often Gambia, Sierra Leone, Panama and Cameroon. Ukraine will pass all relevant information to these countries and work with them to stop issuing licenses,” the statement added.
It should be noted that according to Ukrainian intelligence, every sixth tanker in the world now belongs to Russia’s “shadow fleet”. In total, this is about 17% of the total number of operating tankers. Since the beginning of this year, analysts have counted 940 vessels that were part of the Russian shadow fleet.
