Speed: 0.5xSpeed: 1xSpeed: 1.5xSpeed: 2x
🎙️ Voice is AI-generated. Inconsistencies may occur.
✖
The Trump administration is weighing additional sanctions on Russia’s so-called “shadow fleet” of oil tankers if President Vladimir Putin does not agree to a ceasefire in Ukraine by Friday, The Financial Times reported.
Two people familiar with the White House’s internal discussions told the FT that further measures against the fleet are viewed as a relatively straightforward way to increase pressure on Russia. A third person close to the administration told the news outlet that the U.S. is considering a broader set of options, but sanctions on the shadow fleet remain under consideration.
As major generators of Russia’s export revenues, oil and natural gas have been the focus of western-led sanctions to choke Moscow’s war machine. However, Russia has set up a shadow fleet of vessels to circumvent a price cap on seaborne oil and the export continues to swell the Kremlin’s coffers.
Russia’s piped natural gas industry has been hit hard by the war. But seaborne LNG exports from Russia to the EU are on the rise and Russian-built carriers are becoming an increasingly important part of the shadow fleet.
Blacklisting ships in the fleet would represent the first U.S. sanctions on Moscow since Donald Trump returned to the White House in January.
The shadow fleet typically avoids using Western insurers, flag registries, and other maritime services, making enforcement of sanctions on vessel owners difficult.
This is a breaking news story. Updates to follow.
More
Associated Press
