With the official adoption of the 21st sanctions package against Russia, the European Union has introduced a key mechanism that allows member states to seize and legally sell off crude oil, fuels and other valuable goods carried by the ships of the Russian “shadow fleet“.
Until now, national authorities in Europe have detained suspicious vessels during maritime actions, but there has been no clear legal procedure for what to do with the millions of dollars worth of cargo seized on board.
The new provision precisely defines these powers following interventions at sea in violation of the G7 embargo and price ceiling. Similar cases of tankers with tens of thousands of barrels of oil seized have already been recorded by Belgium in the North Sea and by France off its coast, with the value of individual voyages exceeding tens of millions of dollars. Brussels’ policy allows for the sale of not only petroleum products but also other bulk cargoes such as Russian grain on the same irregular ships if violations are detected.
The EU’s High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Kaia Kallas, stressed during recent inspections in the Mediterranean that any illegal maritime navigation supports the Russian military machine and Europe is responding with real action on the high seas. Along with the seizures, the 21st package freezes the price ceiling for Russian oil at $44 per barrel for a year, depriving the Kremlin of billions in revenue. Moscow has officially described these interventions as piracy and threatened to respond, while European institutions continue to tighten the noose around the logistics networks and insurers of shady tankers.