According to Vladyslav Vlasyuk, the president's authorized representative for sanctions policy, Ukraine is negotiating with Western partners to introduce new sanctions against the shadow fleet created by Russia to transport and sell oil to bypass the price ceiling set by the West.
Points of attention
- Ukraine is in discussions with Western partners to impose sanctions on the shadow fleet established by Russia for evading oil sale restrictions imposed by the West.
- Russia utilizes approximately 600 tankers in its shadow fleet to earn billions of dollars monthly through oil sales that bypass sanctions.
- The most common method for transporting Russian oil involves ship-to-ship transshipments in locations like the Aegean Sea, enabling the evasion of sanctions.
- New companies based in the UAE and Hong Kong have emerged to facilitate the export of Russian oil worldwide, aiding in the circumvention of sanctions.
- Ukraine and Western countries are intensifying efforts to combat the environmental threats posed by the 'shadow fleet' created by Russia for illicit oil sales.
What is known about Ukraine's negotiations with partners regarding sanctions against the shadow fleet of the Russian Federation
In addition, we are in dialogue with various financial institutions so that they confirm any oil-related payments only after thorough compliance. In addition, given the age and condition of the "shadow" fleet, we appeal to the fact that it poses a great threat to the environment, which is why many coastal countries do not like it. The Baltic countries and Denmark are already actively supporting this, and we will intensify our efforts in this regard, Vlasyuk notes.
On September 2, President Volodymyr Zelenskyi introduced new anti-Russian sanctions. Legal entities specializing in cargo transportation by air and sea transport and executing orders in the interests of the Russian military industry came under the new restrictions.
Currently, Russia continues to successfully bypass Western restrictions on the sale of oil with the help of the created shadow fleet.
Anatoly Amelin, co-founder and director of economic programs of the Ukrainian Future Institute, emphasizes that Russia uses about 600 tankers as part of the so-called "shadow fleet" to sell oil to circumvent Western sanctions.
This allows the aggressor country to earn at least 17-18 billion dollars from the sale of oil every month.
How the Russian Federation circumvents Western sanctions on the sale of oil with the help of a shadow fleet
Currently, six little-known companies, including those created less than a year ago, participate in the export of about 1.5 million barrels of oil per day from Russia. Among these companies are three from Dubai — Coral Energy, Nord Axis Ltd and QR Trading and two from Hong Kong — Concept Oil Services and Bellatrix Energy.
The most common way of transporting Russian oil is transshipment from ship to ship, among others, in the Gulf of Laconia in the Aegean Sea.
This is a feature of the maritime transport market and the convention on free movement on the high seas in general. A smaller under-sanctioned tanker leaves a Russian port in the open sea, in neutral waters it is reloaded onto a larger tanker, which then goes to the port and unloads the products, hiding its origin and avoiding sanctions, Vlasyuk emphasizes.
To facilitate the export of Russian oil around the world, new companies appeared, especially in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Hong Kong
For example, at the end of August it became known that Coral Energy Group announced the change of name to 2Rivers Group after the completion of the buyout of shares by the company's management. In 2022-2023, Soral Energy appeared in Western media publications as one of the most powerful operators in the sale of Russian oil and oil products. According to the available data, the company could be in the field of view of the relevant US authorities, which could cause a change of shareholders and the name of the trader, the publication emphasizes.
