Britain targets newly built LNG carriers with sanctions
Russia is constructing new tankers measuring about 300 meters in length to transport liquefied natural gas through the Arctic region. The British Foreign Ministry stated that Moscow is attempting to build an additional shadow fleet to evade restrictive measures. This was reported by RBC-Ukraine (Тетяна Степанова) citing The Telegraph, according to the portal PromPolitInform.
London believes that the Russian authorities have requisitioned numerous additional vessels to expand their clandestine flotilla. Such ships increasingly become targets for seizures and confiscations by North Atlantic Treaty Organization member states.
New vessels for the Arctic
The UK government reported these actions by the Kremlin leadership on October 1st, while also announcing the introduction of fresh restrictive measures against the Russian Federation.
The Foreign Ministry stated that the Kremlin is trying to establish a dangerous new shadow fleet to circumvent sanctions and maintain gas export revenues, noting that the new sanctions package includes several vessels acquired for this purpose, including those commissioned as recently as July of this year.
Under British sanctions
The British side imposed sanctions against the vessels Alexei Kosygin and Konstantin Posyet. Both ships, with a displacement of 127,555 tons, are capable of breaking ice up to two meters thick and are designed for operations in the harsh conditions of the High North.
Restrictions also hit a third vessel, Pyotr Stolypin, which entered service this year, alongside tankers Portovy, Chayvo, Avacha, Bebek-E, and the Sri Lankan-flagged personnel carrier Galle Energy.
Measures by European partners
To date, the European Union has sanctioned approximately 670 vessels, barring them from entering European ports. Meanwhile, Great Britain has taken measures against nearly 600 tankers used to fund the military machine.
Illustrative photo: DmitTrix / CC BY 4.0
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