Shadow Fleet

The UK has found a new means to reassert its global status through individual sanctions on Russia’s shadow fleet, which operates through clandestine networks to fund Russia’s war efforts. Through nuanced sanctions, the UK has begun to establish itself as a Western leader in maritime trade, liberal values and financial transparency in the backdrop of China’s global maritime leadership. 

The shadow fleet is Putin’s economic weapon that circumvents Western oil sanctions and finances the Russia’s war machine.  The fleet operates below the radar, through the typical means of illicit crime. Comprising of old oil tankers, the shadow fleet operates through two elusive fleets. The grey fleet, which operates through front companies that obscure the vessel’s origins and ownership whilst repeatedly changing flags, making it quasi-legal. Then there is the dark fleet, which operates through the same illusory system but also disables the maritime automatic identification system to move wet cargo. 

The shadow fleet comprises of two to three thousand vessels and with the assistance of Turkey, Dubai, China and India, carries 1.4m crude oil barrels per day, resulting in an immense profit. This makes the fleet pivotal for Russia’s war in Ukraine and Western sanctions against Russia, however, due to its elusive nature, it’s a difficult target for sanctions.  

Furthermore, the shadow fleet’s poor safety standards pose significant environmental hazards due to the high risk of oil spills. This makes an increase in individual targeted sanctions against the shadow fleet crucial to prevent environmental devastation. 

Since the UK’s exit from the EU, the country initially struggled to renegotiate its global position. However, without being restricted by the EU’s decision-making institutions, the UK has the institutional flexibility to establish a distinct global identity, which emphasizes its leadership in maritime trade and financial transparency.  

Historically sanctions were state-centric, however in alignment with the U.S Magnitsky Act in 2010, the UK assisted with the EU’s Magnitsky Sanctions in 2014, which started to narrow the scope of sanctions to individuals and companies. This change in sanctioning was driven by the recognition that personal assets and the global financial system could fight corrupt elites and human rights abusers effectively. In alignment with the transition to targeted sanctions, the UK founded the Sanctions and Anti-Money Laundering Act (SAMLA) in 2018 as its target-based sanctions framework. In 2020, the Global Human Rights Sanctions Regime was established through SAMLA to allow sanctions for serious human rights abuses. The first sanctions under this regime targeted individuals in China over human rights abuses against Uyghur Muslims in Xinjiang demonstrating the UK’s commitment to human rights and democracy.  

Furthermore, post-Brexit UK has advanced its global role through sanctions against the shadow fleet. In 2022 the UK sanctioned Russia through the Global Human Rights Sanction Regime, which reflected EU and U.S packages that targeted banks, oligarchs, arms and energy. However, in June 2024, the UK introduced a sanction package that targets individual Russian tankers and shipping entities that make up the shadow fleet, barring the transport of Russian oil and their access to UK ports. These were ‘first of its kind’ sanctions as they directly addressed the logistics of illicit oil trade.  

Conclusively, the UK’s focused sanction package is distinct from the US and the EU, who have sanctioned tankers but solely focus on broader entities within the Russian economy. After initially sanctioning six tankers and two fronts, in July 2024, the UK sanctioned another eleven tankers and initiated a ‘call to action’ coalition of 45 countries and the EU to disrupt the use of illegitimate vessels. In October 2024, the UK sanctioned another 18 vessels, making the total of sanctioned vessels to 43. By February 2025, the UK has published its ‘call to action’ plan, introduced its largest sanction package to date, including the sanctioning of another 40 shadow fleet vessels and companies and entered a 12-country agreement to ‘disrupt and deter’ Russia’s shadow fleet.  This highlights the UK’s transition to becoming a leader in financial transparency in maritime trade against Russia’s illicit oil trade. 

Geopolitically, the UK’s sanctions have represented a firm stance towards authoritarianism, corruption and illicit actors. Through the individual sanctions of vessels, the UK has reinforced its commitment to protecting democratic values and upholding justice whilst setting a precedent for other Western states as a champion of financial transparency. As UK foreign secretary David Lammy asserted “I have made it my mission to constrain the Kremlin, closing the net around Putin and his mafia state”. Furthermore, with Trump’s recalibrating of the global order there is scope for the UK to advantage this position as a protector of democracy and justice in the face of authoritarianism.  

Additionally, the UK’s shadow fleet sanctions have also strengthened its historical role as a global maritime leader. The UK has historically been a dominant maritime power with this reputation still enduring in the present day. It houses the London Maritime Arbitrators Association (LMAA) as the worldwide leader in commercial Maritime Dispute Resolution, a strong Global Naval Presence and also is a founder and key player of the International Maritime Organisation (IMO). As an already significant player in international maritime law, the UK’s stance on the shadow fleet has allocated it a unique role in enforcing maritime trade transparency, that has capacity to influence new standards within the IMO and shipping companies.   

Therefore, through its targeted sanctions on the Shadow fleet, the UK has positioned itself as a leading nation in financial transparency and maritime governance. Whilst these individual sanctions need to be developed, with further vessels, shipping companies and front companies to be included, they have the ability to cause a great detriment to the financing of Russia’s war against Ukraine. The UK’s nuanced approach to the Shadow fleet provides it with a distinct identity that asserts the UK as a global leader in maritime trade, democracy and justice.