The United States struck at Russia's shadow fleet: who paid for violating oil sanctions

The United States has imposed additional sanctions against Russian oil carriers. The U.S. Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) has added Hennesea Shipping Company, a shipping company based in the United Arab Emirates, to the sanctions list, which was identified as the ultimate owner of 18 tankers.

This is stated in a statement by the US Treasury Department."There will be one less shadowy fleet serving Russian oil," commented Danylo Hetmantsev (Servant of the People), head of the Verkhovna Rada's Tax Committee.

The imposition of sanctions was preceded by an investigation into violations of the price ceiling on oil from Russia. It was found that the HS Atlantica tanker (currently in the Black Sea) was transporting crude oil originating in Russia at a price higher than $60 per barrel.

The vessel was owned by Hennesea Holdings Limited (Hennesea), a shipping company registered in late 2022 based in the United Arab Emirates. It owns a total of 18 vessels:

All direct and indirect ownership of Hennesea in the United States has been blocked since the sanctions were imposed. All transactions with Hennesea by US persons and companies are prohibited (licenses for exceptions are issued by OFAC).

The sanctions against Hennesea also block the company's transactions in dollars. "These prohibitions include making any contribution or providing funds, goods or services by or for the benefit of any blocked person, as well as receiving any contribution or providing funds, goods or services from any such person," explained Hetmantsev.

This is not the first tightening of restrictions aimed at closing loopholes in the oil price ceiling sanctions. Earlier, after the US tightened sanctions on oil trade with Russia, Russian tankers began to take uncharacteristic actions. For example, in early 2024, 14 vessels were delayed en route, abruptly changed their routes, or simply disappeared from tracking systems.

As reported by OBOZ.UA, despite the "oil" sanctions imposed by the West, Russia is making a profit from the sale of oil products. The Russian Federation uses various methods and loopholes to circumvent the energy restrictions that have been in place for a year, from December 2022.

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