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Made under the Autonomous Sanctions Regulations 2011 (the same instrument underlying Australia's broader Russia sanctions programme, in force since 2011), the Minister for Foreign Affairs lowered the price cap applicable to the import, purchase or transport of Russian-origin crude oil from USD 60/bbl to USD 47.60/bbl -- matching the dynamic cap the EU set in its 18th sanctions package (Council Regulation 2025/1494, 18 July 2025) at roughly 15% below the Argus-assessed average Urals price. In parallel, DFAT designated 95 further tanker vessels identified as part of Russia's "shadow fleet" -- ageing tankers that use flag-hopping, disabled tracking transponders and opaque or absent Western insurance to move price-cap-breaching cargoes. Designated vessels are barred from Australian-linked services (insurance, chartering, port access, cargo handling) to the extent Australian persons are involved.
Australia had first designated shadow-fleet vessels in June 2025; this round brings the cumulative total past 150 vessels, and total Russia-related sanctions actions since the 2022 invasion to roughly 1,600 individuals, entities and vessels.
Canada, New Zealand, now Australia at this cap level) that increasingly compounds insurance and port friction for listed tankers across jurisdictions, raising the effective cost of evasion.
lagging at the prior USD 60/bbl G7 cap) closes a jurisdictional arbitrage gap that shadow-fleet operators could otherwise exploit via Australian-linked shipping services.
importers/exporters; impact is confined to shipping/insurance counterparties that might otherwise deal with the designated vessels.
recalculated periodically against the trailing Urals average) going forward, or continue to reset the figure via discrete announcements.
primary source in this filing pass; the DFAT Consolidated List carries the authoritative register.