Australia imposes sanctions against Russian shadow fleet for the first time

Australia has imposed sanctions against 60 vessels of Russiaʼs shadow fleet for the first time.

This was reported by the Office of the Australian Foreign Minister.

Since Russiaʼs full-scale invasion of Ukraine began, Australia has imposed more than 1 400 sanctions on the aggressor country. But these are the first to target vessels that Russia uses to circumvent sanctions on oil and other goods.

The Office of the Minister of Foreign Affairs Penny Wong said the sanctions were imposed “side by side” with those imposed by partners such as Canada, the United Kingdom and the European Union. Together, these measures help to deprive Russia’s military economy of oil revenues.

• In May, the European Union imposed its largest-ever package of sanctions against Russia’s shadow fleet. It added 189 more vessels to the list of vessels banned from ports and services, bringing the total number of vessels under sanctions to 342. They transport Russian oil and help Russia evade existing sanctions. The EU also imposed sanctions on companies helping to transport Russian oil through the shadow fleet, including shipping companies in the UAE, Turkey and Hong Kong, as well as a major Russian insurer. This includes asset freezes and a financing ban.
• On June 17, Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney reported new sanctions at the G7 summit on more than 200 vessels from the shadow fleet and more than 40 organizations in Russia and abroad that are trying to work to circumvent sanctions.

For more news and in-depth stories from Ukraine, please follow us on X.