UK targets oil tankers in bid to strike Kremlin’s war machine

Several of the 30 tankers that this week were added to London's sanction list have shipped Russian oil across the Arctic.

Atle Staalesen
26 November 2024 -
THE BARENTS OBSERVER

In its largest sanctions package of the kind, the UK government on the 25th of November announced restrictions on 30 tankers that have engaged in shipping of Russian oil.

The ships have been responsible for transporting billions of euros worth of oil and oil products in the last year alone, the government of PM Keir Starmer informs.

They operate along shady schemes established to bypass international sanctions and are part of what is referred to as Russia's 'shadow fleet.'

"Russia’s oil revenues are fuelling the fires of war and destruction in Ukraine," Foreign Secretary David Lammy says in a comment.

"I will work with our G7 partners and beyond to exert relentless pressure on the Kremlin, disrupt the flow of money into its war chest, erode its military machine, and constrain its malign behaviour worldwide," he adds.

Among the 30 vessels are several tankers that this year have shipped oil across the Northern Sea Route.

The Nanda Devi (IMO 9274434) in late September shipped Russian oil on the Northern Sea Route to India. It is one of many Russia-associated tankers that recently have been registered in the ship register of the African nation of Gabon .

Oil tanker Viktor Bakaev (IMO 9610810) has made several shipments in the remote Arctic region this year. The ship has low ice-class (Ice-2) which makes it vulnerable in harsh and icy waters .

A big number of the 30 tankers that now will be subjected to additional international restrictions are connected to Sovcomflot, the Russian shipping company that is on the sanctions lists of both the EU and USA.

Shipment of Russian oil through Arctic waters. Photo: Sovcomflot