What is Russia's Shadow Fleet, the target of latest EU sanctions?
The European Council adopted the 17th package of economic and individual restrictive measures, including on the shadow fleet for oil exports.
Russia’s ‘Shadow Fleet’ is in focus after the European Union on Tuesday imposed a sweeping set of sanctions, which the group described as its ‘largest ever package’ targeting it.
The European Council adopted the 17th package of economic and individual restrictive measures, including on the shadow fleet for oil exports, cutting off Russia's access to key military technology.
Meanwhile, as per a statement from the UK's Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, the latest sanctions target entities supporting Russia's military machine, energy exports and information war, as well as financial institutions helping to fund Putin's invasion of Ukraine and to disrupt the supply chains of deadly Russian weapons systems, including Iskander missiles.
The sanctions are aimed at curtailling Moscow's revenue streams from crude oil sales using the so-called ‘Shadow Fleet'. The fleet is reportedly used to move Russian oil across the globe despite the Western sanctions on any such sale.
What is Russia's Shadow Fleet, and why is it important for Moscow?
According to a report by the Guardian, the Russian Shadow Fleet is a collection of 500 or so old and uninsured secret oil tankers. The EU says Moscow uses this fleet to secretly export oil to other countries, dodging sanctions.
These ships are called the ‘Shadow Fleet' as they operate in shadows, outside the rules set for international shipping. They are reportedly unregistered, hide their movements, operate under fake names and often change their flag to remain untracked.
The fleet is important for Russia as it is a way to dodge international sanctions imposed on its oil export after Moscow invaded Ukraine in 2022. Oil is a major source of money for the Kremlin, and that's how it funds its war in Ukraine.
To offset that, a price cap was introduced on Russian oil, barring the country from selling it above $60 per barrel to certain countries. Shipping companies in Europe were banned from helping transport Russian oil if it broke the rules.
To continue selling oil and making money without following its adversaries' rules, Russia began building the shadow fleet.
How does the Russian Shadow Fleet operate?
Under international shipping rules, ships use an Automatic Identification System (AIS) to communicate their location with the concerned authorities and other ships. That feature is switched off in the shadow fleet, which helps it maintain its secrecy.
The ships frequently change their names and flags mid-journey, making it difficult to ascertain where the oil came from. The fleet also moves the oil from one ship to another in the middle of the ocean to achieve the same thing.
Many of these tankers are ageing, bought secondhand from Western countries. They are more likely to leak or cause accidents, raising environmental concerns.
