U.K. puts new sanctions on Russia’s shadow fleet

Today’s sanctions target more than 20 oil tankers with new and enhanced powers introduced last month. The U.K. says it is also tightening the net around those who are suspected of enabling Putin’s illicit oil trade, further sanctioning ship insurers and other shipping services.       The sanctions were announced during the G7 2026 Summit in Evian, France, with the U.K. saying it is the first G7 country to sanction several LNG carriers recently acquired by Russia at great expense to service Russia’s sanctioned Arctic LNG 2 project.

Windward AI notes that Russia is quietly expanding its LNG carrier shadow fleet, acquiring aging tonnage ahead of EU sanctions on the sector that take effect January 1, 2027, which will restrict which vessels can call at EU ports. Windward has identified six ships, all aged 19 years or over, sold and deployed to Russian LNG trades in the past five months. Four were sanctioned by the U.K. today. Russia’s shadow fleet of LNG carriers is now estimated at 23 vessels.       “These sanctions target the vessels, the money and the actors propping up Russia’s war economy, and in turn, threatening European security,” said Prime Minister Keir Starmer. “Working with our G7 allies, we will continue to increase the pressure in Putin and his circle of collaborators until Russia’s war machine is brought to a halt and peace returns to our continent.’      The U.K. says that those who are suspected of enabling the sale of tankers to Russia’s shadow fleet will be exposed and face action. U.K. sanctions are greatly limiting Russia’s ability to trade oil – in 2025 the Arctic LNG-2 terminal only exported 1.3 million tons of LNG despite having capacity to export over 13.5 million tons a year.

To date, the U.K. has now sanctioned more than 600 shadow fleet and Russian LNG vessels.

The new measures also expose and target a Russian military intelligence (GRU) network centred around GRU front company LLC Neptune Co Ltd (‘Neptune’).      Neptune is involved in covertly procuring western technology for Russia’s military.       Today’s actions target three companies and 10 GRU officers suspected of acquiring military technology that Russia desperately needs to sustain its military aggression in UKraine.       Elsewhere, sanctions also hit third country suppliers of critical military equipment to Russia in China, Thailand and Turkey, Several organizations helping Russia illegally move money, bypassing western sanctions, are also targeted including one entity in Nigeria supporting the illicit finance network A7’s sanctions evasions scheme.”