European State Inspection Schemes targeting Russian shadow fleets in Waters of European European waters can help gather information for future sanctions, but the confiscation of ships is not possible under international maritime law, senior insurance officials in Northstandard said January 27.
In December, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Sweden, Poland, Britain and six other countries said they would ask for evidence of insurance from tankers loaded with Russian oil that allegedly avoiding the G7 price limit regime to reduce the risk of safety and environment.
Westan officials, whose organization is one of the largest third party obligations providers for ship owners, suggested that in the press that these countries might aim to find more intelligences about Russian oil trade than to disturb them.
“You can see that one of the consequences may be an approved additional ship,” said March Church, Head of Sanction Advice at an insurance company, added that the insurance company that included tankers considered involved in approved trade could also be included in the Blacklist.
The British government, which has the authority to regulate the largest sea insurance market in the world, has approved ships that refuse to provide insurance details when passing through the British channel while imposing sanctions on several Russian insurance companies including Ingosstrakh and Alfastrakhovanie.
Since the invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, Russia has collected a large tanker fleet operated by the interests of the country and opaque companies, companies that are less well known to cut Western sanctions, including the G7 price hats regime, and most of them are dark tankers without western insurance Or the G7 regime, and most of them are dark tankers without western insurance or or G7 regimes, and most of them are dark tankers without western insurance or not closed at all.
While every oil spill incident associated with ships can cost $ 1 billion to be cleaned, the European government has little power to prevent their journey because the 1982 UN convention on sea law protects freedom of navigation, according to officials.
“We do not limit the ship’s rights to transit … [We are] Ask them to give details of what their insurance is, “said Mike Salthouse, Head of Northstandard’s Foreign Affairs.
European countries have stated that tankers will be examined in the British channel, a large Belt of the Danish Strait, the voices between Denmark and Sweden, and the Teluk Finland, which is the point of Chokeppepts from Russian exports from Baltic. The volume of oil transit exceeded 5 million b/d in the Danish Strait last year, according to the S&P Global Commodities at Sea (opened in the new tab).
US sanctions
Separately, westernly officials suggest that the US can be more likely to target EU companies because they violate sanctions under President Donald Trump because of their willingness to pursue various diplomatic interests from traditional US allies.
Observers said the previous Biden administration generally avoided sanctions on companies based in other Western countries, with Lagosmarine Cyprus to be an important exception to alleged infringement of price boundaries. But Trump has a record of Sanctions for EU, including Greek tankers, during his first term of office in 2016-2020.
“If past performance is any indicator of what will happen next … You might hope there is a little reluctance to disappoint the allies,” Salthouse said.
US sanctions for EU companies are more likely to occur in relations with Iran, Venezuela and China than Russia, where the interests of the US and the European Union seem to harmonize diplomatically for now, the Church said. “I think it is more likely to happen to a program where political goals are slightly different.”
Source: Platts
