British Sanctions Against Putin's Shadow Fleet

Britain is imposing new sanctions on Russia’s so-called shadow fleet that transports oil in the Baltic Sea, according to the British government.

Up to 100 oil tankers that have transported cargo worth more than $24 billion since the beginning of 2024 are covered by the sanctions.

The ships are being used by Russian President Vladimir Putin to circumvent Western sanctions on Russian gas and oil, but are also known to damage critical infrastructure through ‘reckless shipping in Europe,’ the British government said in a press release.

‘The threat from Russia to our national security cannot be underestimated, so we will do everything in our power to destroy his shadow fleet operation, starve his war machine of oil revenues and protect the underwater infrastructure we depend on in our daily lives,’ British Prime Minister Keir Starmer said in a press release.

The sanctions are described as the largest ever against the Russian shadow fleet. The package will be announced by Starmer on Friday in connection with a summit in Oslo on the British-led defence cooperation JEF (Joint Expeditionary Force), in which Sweden and Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson are also participating.

^{Cover image: Johan Nilsson / TT A crude oil tanker passes through the Öresund strait in February. Archive image.}