There
is
“growing
evidence”
Russia
is
using
“shadow
tanker
fleets”
to
circumvent
a
Western
oil
price
cap,
a
watchdog
committee
of
House
of
Lords
peers
warns
MPs
today.
Arguing
Britain
and
its
allies
must
maintain
sanctions
and
military
support
for
Ukraine
for
“as
long
as
it
takes”,
the
House
of
Lords
panel
urged
them
to
take
“decisive
action”
over
the
issue.
“We
are
concerned
at
the
growing
evidence
that
Russia
has
been
able
to
circumvent
sanctions,
including
through
third
states
and
uninsured
shadow
tanker
fleets,”
the
Lords’
European
Affairs
Committee
says
in
its
latest
report.
“This
is
an
issue
where
decisive
action
by
the
UK
and
its
allies
is
needed,”
it
added,
urging
the
government
to
detail
“specific
examples”
of
enforcement
action.
It
comes
just
over
a
year
after
the
G7,
European
Union
partners
and
Australia
imposed
the
unprecedented
price
cap
on
Russian
oil,
hoping
to
starve
President
Vladimir
Putin
of
much-needed
revenue
while
ensuring
he
still
supplied
the
global
market.
Initially
successful,
the
$60
(£47.37)
per
barrel
price
ceiling
on
Russian
oil
lost
its
impact
once
Moscow
found
new
buyers –
and
new
tankers –
to
deliver
its
exports.
Recent
assessments
show
Moscow
has
reduced
its
dependence
on
Western
shipping
services
and
skirted
the
curb
by
building
so-called
“shadow
fleets”
of
tankers.
It
has
also
bought
older
ships
and
offered
its
own
insurance
services.
Companies
based
in
the
EU,
G7
member
states
and
Australia
are
banned
from
providing
services
enabling
maritime
transport,
such
as
insurance,
of
oil
above
that
price.
But
the
Kyiv
School
of
Economics
is
the
latest
to
highlight
the
extent
to
which
Russia
is
now
able
to
get
around
the
mechanism.
In
its
December
“Russian
Oil
Tracker”
report
released
earlier
this
month,
it
estimated
179
loaded
Russian
shadow
fleet
tankers
left
Russian
ports
in
November
2023.
Around
70%
of
the
vessels
were
built
more
than
15
years
ago,
it
said.
In
October
2023,
the
shadow
fleet
was
responsible
for
exports
of
around
2.3
million
barrels
per
day
of
crude
oil
and
800,000
million
barrels
per
day
of
petroleum
products,
according
to
the
KSE.
The
Lords
committee
welcomed
the
Western
sanctions
regime
imposed
on
Moscow
since
its
invasion
of
Ukraine
in
early
2022,
and
in
particular
that
it
had
been
“broadly
aligned”,
but
warned
against
“divergence”.
“Divergence
between
sanctions
regimes
results
in
gaps
and
loopholes,
weakening
their
effectiveness;
it
should
be
as
limited
as
possible,”
it
said.
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