UK Sanctions 137 Tankers and Traders for Involvement in Moving Russian Oil
The UK has taken another swipe at Russia's energy exports with a fresh set of sanctions on 135 oil tankers, as well as two companies that enable the "shadow fleet" trade. According to the UK Foreign Office, the vessels on the list have handled $24 billion worth of oil cargoes for Russia since the beginning of the invasion of Ukraine, funneling revenue to the Kremlin and its defense establishment.
"As Putin continues to stall and delay on serious peace talks, we will not stand idly by. We will continue to use the full might of our sanctions regime to ratchet up economic pressure at every turn and stand side by side with Ukraine," said UK Foreign Secretary David Lammy. "New sanctions will further dismantle Putin's shadow fleet and drain Russia's war chest of its critical oil revenues."?
The list includes familiar vessel names from the Sovcomflot fleet, once well-regarded for its quality but now relegated to trading in the dark. These ships formerly resided in popular open registries, but most are now flying flags of "extreme convenience" for shadow fleet participants - notably Comoros and Gabon, which have absorbed a large share of sanctions-busting tankers.
The UK also joined the European Union in sanctioning a UAE-based company - Intershipping Services LLC - that markets the Gabon and Comoros registries to customers in the shadow fleet trade. The fleet of Gabon, the fastest-growing flag state, now handles an estimated $10 billion in seaborne trade for Russia per year.
The UK also named Litasco Middle East DMCC (known as LME Trading DMCC), a company with ties to Lukoil, Russia's second-largest crude exporter. According to Russian investigative reporting outlet The Insider, Litasco Middle East was by far the biggest buyer of Russian oil priced above the G7 price cap last year, handling about 170 million barrels in 2024 for Surgutneftegaz and Lukoil - about $2 billion worth of trade. Like the overwhelming majority of participants in Russia's shadowy oil trade, LME is based in the UAE.
In a related action on Friday, the European Union expanded its Russia sanctions list to include dozens of new entities, including Iranian trader Hossein Shamkhani, director of UAE-based Admiral Shipping - another firm linked to the trade. "[Shamkani] uses the company Milavous Group Ltd to blend crude oil with various petroleum products from Russia and to rebrand for exporting purposes, thereby concealing their origin. Additionally, as Director of the company Admiral Shipping, he is involved in transporting and selling Russian crude oil," the European Council asserted in its listing.