Brussels, 14 November 2024
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MEPs want the EU to target shadow tankers that export Russian oil in defiance of sanctions
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EU member states must step up monitoring and inspections
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The EU must ban all imports of Russian fossil fuels
MEPs demand more targeted EU sanctions against Russia’s so-called ‘shadow fleet’, which provides a key financial lifeline for Moscow’s war in Ukraine.
Russia uses old tankers, often uninsured and with unclear ownership, to export its crude oil and petroleum products abroad, despite EU, G7 and international sanctions. These activities have also raised fears over the risk of environmental disasters, including severe oil spills. As part of systematic efforts to undermine EU restrictive measures, the ‘shadow fleet’ provides a key financial lifeline for Russia in its illegal and unjustifiable war of aggression against Ukraine.
In a resolution adopted on Thursday, the European Parliament calls for more targeted measures against these vessels in the next EU sanctions packages, including all individual ships as well as their owners, operators, managers, accounts, banks and insurance companies. It also demands the systematic sanctioning of vessels sailing through EU waters without known insurance and urges the EU to enhance its surveillance capabilities, especially drone and satellite monitoring, and to conduct targeted inspections at sea. MEPs want EU member states to designate ports capable of handling sanctioned vessels carrying crude oil and Liquified Natural Gas (LNG) and to seize illegal cargo without compensation.
End EU imports of Russian fossil fuels
The resolution further calls on G7 countries to better enforce the price cap imposed on Russian seaborne oil, to substantially decrease the oil price cap and to crack down on the loopholes used by Russia to repackage and sell its oil and oil products at market prices. Stressing that the impact of existing sanctions and the financial and military support to Ukraine will continue to be undermined as long as the EU imports Russian fossil fuels, MEPs urge the EU and its member states to ban all imports of Russian fossil fuels, including LNG. Pointing towards the need for much stricter enforcement of current EU sanctions, the text also states that the EU should seriously reassess its bilateral cooperation with third countries that are helping Russia circumvent EU restrictive measures in place, if diplomatic efforts are unsuccessful.
For all the details, the full resolution will be available here (14.11.2024). It was approved by show of hands.
Read the EP Think Tank briefing
Download: EPRS briefing: “Russia’s ‘shadow fleet’: Bringing the threat to light” (November 2024)
Source – EU Parliament
Further sources:
- Uk Government: UK cracks down on illicit ‘shadow fleet’ transporting Russian oil globally
- United24Media: How Russia’s Shadow Fleet Saves the Country’s Oil Industry and the Threats It Poses to the World
- Navigating Russia: The Shadow Fleet in Crisis
S&D Group: EU must sanction all vessels involved in Russia’s shadow fleet
“Russia’s shadow fleet is an army of old and very uncertain vessels enabling Russia to escape EU sanctions on fossil fuels. Moscow has invested several billion euros building up this fleet and it enables Moscow to keep fueling its war machine against Ukraine with billions of energy revenues in violation of EU sanctions.
“And there is more: these unsafe vessels going through European waters are posing an imminent and high threat on the environment. They are putting us all at very serious risk.
“Action must be taken immediately. We’re calling for EU sanctions against all shadow fleet vessels and for banning European vessels from transporting Russian oil. Non-EU countries complicit of circumventing EU sanctions against Russia, like China, India and Turkey, should be imposed a much higher cost for their support to Russia’s war!”
Source – S&D Group
Renew Europe Group: Russia’s shadow fleet must be stopped and sanctions reinforced
Brussels, 14 November, 2024
Author: Lucian Goleanu
The Renew Europe Group in the European Parliament calls for more targeted sanctions on the ‘shadow fleet’ in the next sanctions packages against Russia and for enhanced EU-wide measures to ensure the immediate inspection of vessels operating in EU waters in order to verify their insurance coverage and compliance with IMO requirements.
Russia is actively circumventing EU sanctions including by operating oil tankers, which are often old vessels with unclear ownership, sailing under the flags of countries with low safety standards, which leads to these ships posing a major ecological threat in case of accidents.
On the initiative of Renew Europe, the European Parliament today adopted a resolution on EU actions against the Russian shadow fleets calling for full enforcement and extension of sanctions against Russia. Renew Europe also denounced the risk of these unsafe and uninsured Russian vessels to maritime security and calls for ship-to-ship transfers of Russian crude oil and oil products in EU waters to be banned.
Renew Europe MEP, Gerben-Jan Gerbrandy (D66, The Netherlands), said:
“Ghost ships transporting illegal Russian oil, are unmitigated natural disasters waiting to happen. Passing through our waters and past our shores. We want the European Commission and the European member states to ban these dangerous ships from our waters, and in the process enforce our European sanctions.”
Renew Europe MEP, Bernard Guetta (Independent, France), added:
“Today it is one of the largest fleets in the world. It has neither known owner nor insurance: it is the “ghost” fleet that Russia has set up to circumvent the sanctions affecting its oil exports and to finance its war against Ukraine.
It is high time we denounced this situation and to call on the Commission and the 27 European governments to act. That is the message approved today by a very large majority of the MEPs.”
Source – Renew Europe Group