Kalniete: Hundreds of shadow fleet tankers exporting Russian oil should be included in sanctions lists

"The 600 shadow fleet tankers, which export 70% of Russia's oil, pump $12 billion into Russia's war budget every month. The shadow fleet has doubled this year. These tankers are not insured and their personnel are poorly trained. They are dangerously worn out and, in fact, they are ecological time bombs that threaten the world's waters with oil spills. The Russian shadow fleet is a direct hybrid threat to Latvia and the other Baltic Sea countries," said MEP Sandra Kalniete, EPP group.

The European Parliament will debate tonight on ensuring full enforcement of sanctions against Russia in the light of the expansion of Russia's shadow fleet of oil tankers. Kalniete admits that the ownership of the tankers is obscure and they often change owners, so sanctions against the new owner are not in force, however, the solution is to identify and sanction tankers by their registration numbers. "Already the first dozen vessels that the European Union, the US and the UK have placed on sanctions lists show that the volumes of oil transported are decreasing. So far, the EU has sanctioned 27 vessels. This is not enough and hundreds of shadow fleet vessels need to be added to the lists," said Kalniete.

Speaking in a European Parliament debate tonight, the Sandra Kalniete will call on European allies to put more pressure on Putin's international promoters of war, countries and companies that are enriching themselves as intermediaries by exporting dual-use goods to Russia. "Without significantly reducing the Kremlin's ability to continue the war, we are delaying a Ukrainian victory," warns Kalniete.