The European Union is developing new measures to combat Russia’s shadow fleet, which plays a key role in transporting energy resources and provides a significant portion of the aggressor country’s military revenues. EU members are working on a common interpretation of the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea, which will expand the powers of national authorities to inspect vessels suspected of posing threats to maritime infrastructure, including underwater pipelines and cables.
This is reported by Finway
Combating Fraudulent Schemes of the Shadow Fleet
The main difficulty lies in the fact that vessels of Russia’s shadow fleet often use forged documents, falsified route data, and can change flags to evade control. Such methods complicate the determination of the vessel’s true national affiliation and allow for the continued transportation of Russian oil and petroleum products despite imposed international sanctions.
Ukraine Intensifies Sanction Pressure
Ukraine recently imposed sanctions on nearly 700 vessels of Russia’s shadow fleet engaged in the transportation of oil and petroleum products. Official Kyiv advocates for a complete ban on providing maritime services to vessels involved in the export of Russian energy resources and seeks to synchronize these restrictions with international partners.
It is worth noting that despite allies’ attempts to limit trade in Russian oil, Greek tankers are assisting Moscow. According to YLE, the Greek-registered vessel Velos Topas was in the port of Ust-Luga on December 13, which is one of Russia’s most important oil ports. Another Greek tanker, Irini, was off the coast of St. Petersburg. This does not mean that the vessels are violating European sanctions, as under the EU flag, Russian oil can be transported if several conditions are met: tankers do not carry oil to the EU, and the cargo price does not exceed the price cap.
It is noted that Greek tankers continue to cooperate with Russian ports, avoiding sanction violations by adhering to certain conditions. Under the EU flag, transporting Russian oil is permitted if the cargo is not heading to EU countries and the price does not exceed the established cap.
Despite such loopholes, Russia’s revenues from oil and gas exports in December are estimated to decrease by almost 50% compared to the same period last year — to 410 billion rubles (approximately $5.17 billion). This will be the lowest figure since August 2020, when the COVID-19 pandemic caused a significant drop in global demand for energy resources. By the end of the year, a nearly 25% decrease in the Russian Federation’s revenues from oil and gas is expected — to 8.44 trillion rubles, which is lower than the forecasts of the Russian Ministry of Finance.