A significant portion of Russia's oil tanker "shadow fleet" must find new flags to sail under as Western sanctions intensify pressure on Moscow's shipping network, as Barbados and Panama maritime registries are set to de-list 114 Russian vessels, Bloomberg reports.
According to the Barbados ship registry, 46 vessels will be required to remove the country's flag by the end of January 2025 due to UK sanctions, with 14 of these vessels also under US sanctions. Additionally, Bloomberg says Panama's ship registry announced earlier in January it had begun de-listing 68 vessels sanctioned by the US.
The development follows the implementation of new sweeping sanctions on Russia's exports earlier in January 2025. Affected vessels are expected to find new registrations. Some vessels previously registered in Barbados have already found new flags with Tanzania and São Tomé and Príncipe, according to the Equasis marine database.
Panama's decision to cancel 68 vessels follows its late 2024 rule alignment with US, European Union, UK, and United Nations sanctions.
Related:
- Finland says Russian shadow fleet tanker crew planned more cable sabotage before arrest
- Bloomberg: Three tankers with 2M barrels of Russian oil stranded off China as US sanctions bite
- YLE: Dubai firms own 55 vessels in Russian shadow fleet
- Oil tanker from Russian shadow fleet towed to German port after floating adrift in Baltic Sea
- US, UK block Russia’s oil giants in largest-ever energy sanctions package, target shadow fleet
- Russia’s navy-escorted tanker targets Bundeswehr helicopter with warning flares in Baltic
- Panama cancels registration of four tankers from Russia’s shadow fleet
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