UK’s New PM Launches “Call to Action” Targeting Russian Tankers
The new government of the UK being led by Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer is moving aggressively less than two weeks after taking office to target Russian tankers and the so-called “shadow fleet.” Ahead of a meeting on Friday with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Stamer issued a “Call to Action” to the European community and launched a new wave of sanctions against tankers violating the price cap imposed by the Western nations.
“Alongside our European partners, we have sent a clear message to those enabling Putin’s attempts to evade sanctions: we will not allow Russia’s shadow fleet, and the dirty money it generates, to flow freely through European waters and put our security at risk,” said the Prime Minister in his official statement.
The new government was elected at the beginning of the month. Stamer assumed power officially on July 5 after King Charles III asked him to become prime minister and form a government. Stamer promised fast and decisive actions.
Speaking at the European Political Community summit today he called on the 44 European Countries and the European Union to “tackle the use of illegitimate vessels which also pose significant security and environmental threats to European waterways.” The UK repeated allegations that some of the ships are doubling as “Russian listening stations,” while they said others are believed to be transporting weapons.
Legal changes in the UK in May 2024 made it possible for the first time to directly sanction tankers as opposed to companies. The former Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s government imposed the first sanctions in June targeting four Russian tankers. The Financial Times calculates the U.S. has imposed sanctions on 42 tankers while the EU sanctioned 17 vessels in June.
Today’s action by the UK lists 11 additional tankers, including eight owned by the Russian state-run shipping company Sovcomflot. All the vessels are being managed from Dubal with seven registered in Gabon, three in the Cook Islands, and one in Panama. Two of the vessels had previously been listed by the EU. The UK contends that one of the vessels, Rocky Runner (159,000 dwt) now registered in the Cook Islands, sought to escape the previous UK action by changing its operator.
In an analysis by the Financial Times, they highlight the success of the sanctions. The newspaper says oil carried by sanctioned vessels dropped from nearly nine million barrels in November to one million in June. The UK in its statement asserted that its actions in June halted tankers responsible for transporting approximately 13 million barrels of Russian crude and oil products since January 2023, worth approximately $930 million.
The Prime Minister’s office said in the statement that Stamer is expected to tell President Zelenskyy tomorrow that the UK will go further in the coming months to place a greater stranglehold on Russia’s war machine.
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