Ukraine Imposed Sanctions on 656 Maritime Vessels of Russia’s Shadow Fleet

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President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy has signed a decree implementing the National Security and Defense Council's decision to impose sanctions against 656 maritime vessels that are part of Russia's shadow fleet. This is the largest sanctions package ever applied to Russia's shadow fleet.

Monitoring of the Black, Red, and Baltic Seas has established that Russia used these vessels to circumvent sanctions imposed by the European Union, the G7, and other states, exporting oil, petroleum products, and liquefied gas in this manner. Shipowners and crews turned off the Automatic Identification System and employed schemes that concealed ownership and the origin of the cargo.

The sanctioned vessels sailed under the flags of more than 50 countries, most frequently those of The Gambia, Sierra Leone, Panama, and Cameroon. Ukraine will provide all relevant information to these states and will work with them to halt the issuance of licenses.

In addition, Ukraine will coordinate with partners to synchronize these sanctions within their jurisdictions. At the same time, a significant portion of the vessels is already subject to sanctions by the United States, the United Kingdom, the European Union, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand.

Ukraine will also continue to coordinate its efforts with partners to ensure a complete ban on the provision of maritime services to vessels involved in the export of Russian energy resources.