The UK continues to lead the world in the tanker sanctions campaign levelled at Russia. Prime minister Keir Starmer revealed another 20 tankers have been added to the UK sanctions list yesterday while confirming news carried by Splash on Tuesday that the UK has teamed up with a number of north European neighbours to challenge the insurance coverage of vessels heading from Russia through the Baltic and along the English Channel.
The UK has now sanctioned over 100 ships for transporting Russian energy, including 93 oil tankers, more than any other nation.
Starmer said yesterday the further sanctions would add further pressure to Putin’s “stalling war economy”.
The European Union sanctioned 52 more tankers on Monday, having previously listed 17.
Vessel tracking data compiled by Bloomberg show that 68 out of 106 crude oil tankers that had been blacklisted by the US, the UK, the European Union, or some combination of the three, since October 2023 have not loaded a single cargo since they were named.
Despite slowing, the grey fleet is still growing by around 10 tankers a month, according to BRS, and now stands at a total of 850 ships, representing 9.1% of the total tanker fleet.
