EU Unveils Ambitious Sanctions Against Nearly 200 'Shadow Fleet' Ships as U.S. Watches from Afar

The European Union has rolled out its 17th sanctions package against Russia, marking a important escalation in its efforts. This latest round adds 189 vessels to the list of sanctioned ships, bringing the total to 342—a sharp increase from just 79 at the end of 2024. Kaja Kallas, the EU’s High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, highlighted that this package includes Surgutneftegas, a major player in Russia’s oil industry.

“This is our most extensive set of sanctions since the conflict began,” she noted, emphasizing new measures related to hybrid threats, human rights violations, and chemical weapons. Interestingly enough, while these actions are being taken by the EU and UK together, there hasn’t been a similar response from Washington D.C., where significant sanctions were last imposed nearly six months ago during Biden’s final days in office.The recent measures also target key players in insurance and shipping sectors—like VSK Insurance and Eiger Shipping—both linked to Russian operations. In total, this brings the number of blocked companies to around 600 and individuals to nearly 1,944.

These sanctions aim primarily at curbing Russia’s income from oil sales. The country has been using its shadow fleet to bypass a $60 price cap set by G7 nations while still managing to sell over nine million barrels daily thanks largely to new buyers like China and India. Despite some success in reducing oil revenues by about 15% as of March 2025 due to Western restrictions,it truly seems that natural gas remains less affected.

Interestingly enough, while there are sweeping measures against Russian crude oil exports, actions against liquefied natural gas (LNG) have been minimal. The EU continues as Russia’s largest LNG customer; it imported an impressive record of 17.8 million tonnes valued at €7.32 billion in just one year alone.

This latest sanctions package does include limited actions targeting three specific LNG carriers—North Ocean,North Light,and North Moon—that facilitate shipments from yamal LNG near Murmansk but lacks broader restrictions on LNG imports altogether.Some EU officials along with Ukrainian advocates have long pushed for stronger action against Russian LNG imports but any definitive steps may not materialize until after 2027 under proposals outlined by the European Commission’s REPowerEU initiative.

In summary: while these new sanctions represent a robust effort by Europe against Russian aggression—and particularly focus on disrupting hydrocarbon revenue—the ongoing reliance on Russian natural gas highlights complexities that remain unresolved within international energy markets.