UK cracks down on illicit Russian fleet transporting oil globally

The British Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) announced Wednesday sanctions against three Russian oil tankers within a fleet of ten vessels known as the "shadow fleet", in an effort to eliminate resources funding Russia's war on Ukraine. In a statement, FCDO explained that the tankers targeted today are of huge capacity and have transported USD five billion worth of Russian oil since the outbreak of the war in Ukraine in 2022. They added that these tankers will be banned from entering British ports and will be refused access to the UK Ship Register. In the statement British Foreign Secretary David Lammy said, "Putin's war machine is funded by a dark and illicit economic system that this government is committed to destabilizing," pledging to send a message to Russia that the international community stands with Ukraine. He also added that they are determined to make Putin's investment an expensive misstep, hoping their actions will help counter Russian attempts to undermine and dodge econ omic sanctions. The Russian fleet has been called the "shadow fleet" because it is stateless, belonging to mysterious entities or lacks proper insurance. Previous British sanctions against individual Russian shadow tankers have hampered Russian oil sales, with most of these vessels forced to unload their cargo outside ports, today's UK oil sanctions bring the number of banned Russian tankers to 25 since last July. Source: Kuwait News Agency