UK readies sanctions on another 100 Russian-linked tankers

The UK is set to impose a new wave of sanctions against the Russian oil trade, targeting up to 100 more ships.

The biggest sanctions package against Russia’s shadow fleet should bring the total number of oil tankers blacklisted by the UK to more than 230.

Announcing the latest move, Britain said the ships being targeted had transported more than $24bn worth of Russian oil and oil products since the start of 2024, with some also involved in damaging cables and pipelines in the Baltic Sea.

“The shadow fleet operation, masterminded by Putin’s cronies, is not just bankrolling the Kremlin’s illegal war in Ukraine – the fleet’s languishing vessels are known to be damaging critical national infrastructure through reckless seafaring in Europe,” Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s office said.

The UK previously imposed sanctions against 133 vessels linked to Russian oil trade – more than any other European nation.

“We will do everything in our power to destroy (President Vladimir Putin’s) shadow fleet operation, starve his war machine of oil revenues and protect the subsea infrastructure that we rely on for our everyday lives,” Starmer said.

In January, the US announced a massive sanctions action covering 183 Russian-controlled and shadow fleet ships, the largest to date.