EU expands Russian shadow fleet blacklist, targeting 120 ships

Russia’s shadow fleet

These tankers avoid European ports and do not use European insurance or other service companies, exploiting freedom of navigation and limiting the effectiveness of sanctions.

However, Article 110 of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), which guarantees such freedom, allows for the interception of vessels "without nationality."

What is prohibited

The EU list bars these ships from entering EU ports or doing business with European firms, including insurance companies and bunker service providers.

So far, the EU blacklist has had limited effect, as the ships can freely navigate EU Baltic waters and deliver Russian oil to clients in Asia under the "right of innocent passage" established in the 1994 UNCLOS and the 1857 Treaty of Copenhagen

Sanctions against Russia

European officials hope the expanded list will increase the number of shadow fleet vessels that can be stopped. The EU and the United Kingdom are applying diplomatic pressure on countries that maintain ship registries to exclude sanctioned vessels, according to Michelle Wiese Blockman of London-based maritime consulting firm Windward.

"A new problem is fraudulent registries - people who set up websites and issue licences, and then we have false-flag ships sailing through European waters. They're effectively lawless and outside of the international rules-based order," Wiese Blockman said.

Windward, a shipping consultancy firm in London, has so far identified 13 false-flag registries.

The European Union is preparing legal grounds to stop Russian shadow fleet tankers in the Baltic Sea. Currently, one in six tankers worldwide belongs to Russia's shadow fleet — about 17% of all active tankers.

RBC-Ukraine also reported that on September 19, the European Commission unveiled the 19th package of anti-Russian sanctions, which includes additional measures targeting the shadow fleet.