The European Union has proposed to impose restrictions on 11 vessels that contribute to Russia's ability to continue the war against Ukraine, Bloomberg reports, UNN writes.
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The proposed measures, if approved by the member states, will prohibit ships from accessing EU ports and anchorage areas, as well as complicate the logistics of their operation by prohibiting them from using European companies to provide a number of services, the publication writes.
The vessels for which restrictions are proposed include four fuel tankers, two crude oil tankers, two gas storage units used in Novatek's upcoming LNG transshipment project in Kamchatka, and a cargo ship. One of them is the Andromeda Star tanker, which was damaged in the Baltic Sea and was found to have invalid European insurance, the publication points out.
These proposals, as noted, are part of the EU's efforts to stop Moscow's ability to circumvent the price ceiling on Russian oil through the use of a "shadow fleet" and to restrict the activities of vessels involved in the transportation of goods that generate revenue for the Russian military machine, especially in sanctioned industries.
According to a draft document seen by Bloomberg, the ban would apply to insurance and technical assistance, including "bunkering, ship supply services, crew change services, cargo loading and unloading services, crane installation services, and tugboats." European suppliers will also be banned from ship-to-ship transshipment, according to the draft.
The sanctions, among other things, will make it more difficult for these vessels to obtain fuel, but the EU measures seem to be less restrictive than those applied by the US Treasury to several of the same vessels, the publication notes.
As part of the same package of sanctions, which will be the 14th in the bloc, the European Commission has also reportedly proposed to target several LNG projects and ban the transshipment of Russian LNG from the EU to third countries. European exporters will be asked to strengthen due diligence on their trade practices and could face measures if they fail to prevent the circumvention of sanctions on important goods due to lack of checks.
EU sanctions must be approved unanimously by the bloc's 27 member states, and the package may change before it is finalized.