Europe will fight Russiaʼs shadow fleet — countries have agreed to new sanctions

At the conference of the European Political Community, Prime Minister of Great Britain Keir Starmer declared the suppression of the so-called shadow fleet of oil tankers of Russia, which helps it circumvent sanctions.

This is stated in the "Call to Action" statement.

"We will not allow the Russian shadow fleet and the dirty money it generates to pass freely through European waters and endanger our security," Starmer stressed.

Led by the UK, 44 European countries and the European Union will work together to tackle the use of illegal vessels. Russiaʼs shadow fleet consists of almost 600 vessels and accounts for approximately 10% of the worldʼs " wet cargo " fleet. With its help, the Russian Federation transports approximately 1.7 million barrels of oil per day, which brings great profits to the Kremlin.

As noted in Prime Minister Starmerʼs Office, some of the ships of the shadow fleet perform the function of Russian listening stations, while others transport weapons to Russia.

The day before, Great Britain imposed sanctions against 11 vessels transporting Russian oil.

• At the beginning of December 2022, the members of the "Big Seven", as well as Australia and the EU, imposed price restrictions on Russian oil, setting a maximum level of $60 per barrel. From February 5, 2023, these countries introduced a price ceiling for Russian petroleum products: $100 for diesel fuel, $45 for various lubricants. To circumvent oil sanctions, Russia began to form a "shadow fleet".