
Sanctions
Sanctions against Russia in response to the country’s invasion of Ukraine continue to mount, while the US administration is reportedly weighing options on both Iranian and Venezuelan sanctions to address the energy gap created by restrictions on Russian oil and gas imports. Lloyd’s List examines the impact of this sanctions and the pain of them on the shipping industry and wider implications for the maritime community including finance, insurance, law and government.

Malta’s loitering sanctioned tanker is first from dark fleet to be targeted by regulators
US regulators have sanctioned eight ships in seven weeks for breaching the oil price cap on Russia, including one from the so-called dark fleet of elderly, anonymously owned sanctions circumventing tankers

US slaps sanctions on three more ships over oil price cap
Ofac is continuing its crackdown on Western-linked ships in breach of the price cap, following on from two previous announcements in October and November

Greek shipowners in exodus from Russian oil trades in November
Crackdown on tankers breaching G7 sanctions over October and November by the US Office of Foreign Assets Control thought to be the trigger for the Greek exit

Iran oil seizures near $300m as US sells Suez Rajan cargo
The 980,000 barrels of Iranian crude oil seized by US authorities off Suez Rajan have been sold to an undisclosed buyer for $83.5m. It brings the total value of seized oil sold by the US to $290m

Fresh US sanctions target Iran’s oil revenues for first time in months
The US has slapped sanctions designated to cripple Iran’s oil revenues for first time since March, targeting networks selling commodities on behalf of Iran’s armed forces and the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps-Qods Force

Caspian fleet grows to accommodate Russia’s growing North-South transport corridor trade
Over 50 more general cargoships, most Russia-flagged, were trading in the Caspian during the summer months

UK-owned ship facilitates first international export from Russian occupied Mariupol
The reluctance of governments to target Russia’s grain trade with sanctions has enabled the expansion and growth of its operations

First Greece-owned tankers return to load Venezuela oil since easing of US sanctions
Western-linked ships visibly return for the first time since mid-2020, when prominent Greece-based shipowners were briefly blacklisted, triggering a pledge from their lobby group to leave trades

The week in charts: Shipping companies fail to set science-based climate targets | Houthis ‘hijack’ Israel-owned car carrier | Containership values drop
Prominent shipping companies are still failing to set science-based net zero targets, Israel-owned car carrier seized transiting the Red Sea, and how the owner of an unassuming south London restaurant became the front for shipping sanctioned Iranian gas trades

Denmark leaves position unclear on inspecting sanctions-busting Russian tankers
The EU and US governments are reportedly in talks with Denmark to inspect and possibly block tankers without known insurance. Whether that would include those that dropped anchor at the Skagen anchorage was not spelled out

How a south London restaurateur became a nexus for sanctioned Iranian gas trades
Analysis of the ownership links behind an LPG tanker that exploded off the coast of Iran in August provides a rare glimpse into the workings of an operation designed to sidestep US sanctions on Iran through the use of front companies and deceptive shipping practices, much like the dark fleet of tankers shipping sanctioned oil

How to make the 12th package of restrictions on Russian crude actually work
If the West wants to up the ante, increasing the scrutiny of attestation documents is a no-brainer. The proposal that the Danes would inspect Russian tankers would need to be part of a wider push to leverage choke points
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