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FCDO/OFSI added 137 entries to the UK Russia sanctions list in a single tranche: 135 individual oil tankers assessed to be part of Russia's shadow fleet (vessels operating with obscured ownership/insurance to circumvent the G7 oil price cap and Western port/insurance restrictions), plus two corporate enablers. Litasco Middle East DMCC, a Dubai-registered trading subsidiary linked to Lukoil, was designated for "ongoing role in moving large volumes of Russian oil on shadow fleet vessels" — OFSI concurrently issued General Licence INT/2025/6488808 permitting wind-down of pre-existing transactions with Litasco. Intershipping Services LLC was designated for registering shadow-fleet tankers under the Gabonese flag, which FCDO says has enabled up to $10bn/year in Russian state-linked shipping to continue operating with a flag of convenience.
The designations landed the same week as the UK/EU move to lower the Crude Oil Price Cap further, and three days after the EU's 18th sanctions package ([2025-07-18-eu-council-regulation-1494-18th-russia-sanctions-package](2025-07-18-eu-council-regulation-1494-18th-russia-sanctions-package.md)) — UK and EU sanctions teams have coordinated companion packages through 2025 rather than filing fully synchronized joint designations, so this is tracked as a separate action rather than an amendment.
compliance/insurance friction for any remaining flag-of-convenience registries and P&I clubs still servicing sanctioned hulls.
channels for Urals/ESPO crude, pushing more volume through unsanctioned intermediaries or deeper into shadow-fleet logistics.
specifically targeted — watch for re-flagging to other open registries (e.g. Cameroon, Comoros, Palau) as a circumvention response.
non-sanctioning-country registries in the months following.
triggers a secondary compliance action.