The European Union is set to impose sanctions on three companies accused of providing false flags to tankers operating within Russia’s shadow fleet.
According to documents reviewed by Bloomberg, the accused companies allegedly assigned fake flags from Aruba, Curaçao and Sint Maarten to at least eight EU-sanctioned vessels.
These measures form part of the EU’s proposed 19th sanctions package, which is currently under discussion among member states. The potential sanctions would only come into force once the full package is unanimously approved by all 27 EU members.
To remind, the Netherlands has alerted the International Maritime Organization (IMO) about the issuance of “fraudulent certificates” under the name of Sint Maarten, further highlighting the issue. Additionally, Denmark announced on 6 October, that it is stepping up inspections of oil tankers in its waters, in an effort to disrupt shadow fleet operations linked to Russia.
In addition, the new sanctions proposal aims to speed up the phase-out of Russian LNG imports. The timeline would be moved up from the end of 2027 to January 1, 2027.
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