UK slaps fresh sanctions on Russian shadow fleet
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The U.K. government unveiled a new sanctions package against Russia on Aug. 6, which targets its banks, companies trading in rare metals, and six newly acquired shadow fleet tankers.
Russia works with a vast network of aging and often uninsured vessels, flying under the flags of other countries, to evade restrictive measures imposed by the U.K. and others against Russian fossil fuels.
New ships keep being identified as belonging to the Russian shadow fleet, presenting an ongoing challenge for countries wishing to enforce their sanctions have to continually update their listings to include these ships and the companies servicing them.
"The U.K. will continue to step up our action against Russia and its shadow fleet activity to protect our national security, our economy, and global stability," said British Economy Minister John Healey.
The latest shadow fleet listings come as European countries are adopting an increasingly assertive stance against suspect ships.
The U.K., France, and Belgium have all boarded shadow fleet vessels in recent months, as has a joint EU naval mission.
Sweden not only intercepted a shadow fleet ship, but ruled that it and its cargo of grain, illegally taken from occupied territory in southern Ukraine, should be given back to Kyiv.
That development preceded EU countries agreeing in their latest 21st sanctions package to consider any shadow fleet ships they intercept, along with the cargo they carry, as income.
The British sanctions announcement also includes restrictions placed on six Russian banks and four Russian companies importing the rare earth metals tantalum and niobium, which the announcement says are "critical for producing military equipment used on the battlefield in Ukraine."
"Ukraine’s fight is our fight. Those that threaten Ukraine’s freedom and democracy are a threat to Britain’s security at home," said British Foreign Minister Ed Miliband.
"That’s why we will continue stepping up the pressure on Russia until a just and lasting peace has been reached."
