Yesterday, the Council of the European Union sanctioned five more people and four companies held responsible for supporting the Russian shadow fleet and related activities. The companies affected by the measure are the Emirati Nova Shipmanagement LLC-FZ and Citrine Marine SPC, the Vietnamese Hung Phat Maritime Trading (HPMT) and Russia's SeverTransBunker Co. Ltd. The five persons included in the sanctions list are considered to be entrepreneurs linked, directly or indirectly, to the major Russian state-owned oil companies Rosneft and Lukoil and, as such, involved in an industry that provides a source of substantial revenue to the government of the Russian Federation. The Council of the EU has specified that, in addition, these are persons that control ships carrying crude oil or oil originating in Russia or exported from Russia, hiding the true origin of the oil and at the same time practicing irregular and high-risk transport practices, also conducted by the four sanctioned companies.

Sanctioned subjects are required to freeze their assets and EU citizens and companies are prohibited from putting funds available to them. They are also subject to a travel ban, which prevents them from entering or transiting through States EU Member States. The nine sanctioned subjects join the more than 2,600 people and entities targeted in response Russia's military aggression against Ukraine.

As part of the measures to combat fleet use that feeds Russia's revenues from seaborne oil exports, the EU has designated over 550 vessels, mainly oil tankers, which did not meet insurance and safety standards and to which it is a ban on access to ports and the supply of maritime services. With yesterday's decision, it was decided to impose sanctions on the broader shadow fleet ecosystem including operators who support the activity of the fleet including shipowners, brokers and commercial entities that manage the shipping register of some Member States incorrectly.

"Russia's shadow fleet - commented Kaja Kallas, Vice-President of the European Commission and High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy - is his main source of money to finance its illegal war. So we are dismantling it, ship by ship. In addition to the new monthly penalties and those on rotation on ships, we are now Addressing the operators who manage the fleet system from shipowners to intermediaries and those who manage the ship registers. Weakening Russia's ability to waging war in Europe remains a key priority for the EU'.