UK blacklists Russian insurer Ingosstrakh and first shadow fleet vessels

The UK government has blacklisted Russian insurance company Ingosstrakh and six ships, the first time it has used new powers passed last month to go after individual vessels.

The designations include four tankers and a multipurpose general cargo ship that the US suspects loaded arms from South Africa to support Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

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Two of the tankers had previously been managed by Dubai-based companies hit by UK sanctions last year. One had continued hauling Russian crude after moving to new management, shipping data showed.

The UK government rushed through legislation last month on the final day of parliament before the start of national election campaigning, closing the loophole and allowing the UK to target individual vessels.

The British government has moved against Ingosstrakh after it began picking up tonnage from G7-linked insurance providers.

The International Group of P&I Clubs said that 800 tankers had left the organisation because of restrictions imposed by sanctions and the oil price cap.

Tankers that have no links to western shipping service providers through finance, insurance, operation and ownership can effectively ignore price cap restrictions and sell crude oil at above $60 a barrel.

The measures were announced as G7 leaders gathered in Italy.

UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said: “Today we are once more ramping up economic pressure through sanctions to bear down on Russia’s ability to fund its war machine. Putin must lose, and cutting off his ability to fund a prolonged conflict is absolutely vital.”

Two of the ships targeted have been linked to mechanical failures. Officials have said one of the biggest concerns is the lack of adequate insurance if there is an accident involving an elderly tanker hauling Russian oil.

The vessels targeted include the 53,100-dwt product tanker Canis Power (built 2005), which lost power in a busy shipping lane off the coast of Denmark with 340,000 barrels of Russian oil on board in May.

It had been managed by Radiating World Shipping Services but switched to Almuhit Alhadi Marine Services after the incident, according to ownership database Equasis. Dubai-based Radiating World was subsequently blacklisted by the UK government in December.

Also targeted was the 106,500-dwt Turba (built 1997), which was renamed Robon under new Kazakhstan ownership in December.

The tanker, which has been linked to Russian trades, appeared to be stranded because of likely mechanical problems for two days last October off the coast of Indonesia.

The Turba was identified during discussions at the International Maritime Organization last year about the growing risk of an accident involving poorly maintained tankers operating in the shadow trades. The Turba had not had a full inspection since 2017, the IMO’s legal committee was told.

Also targeted was the 113,000-dwt Cook Islands-flagged Ocean Amz (built 2008).

TradeWinds reported on Thursday that it was one of three aframaxes involved in ship-to-ship transfers of Russian oil off the coast of Morocco.

It is listed as under the management of One Moon Marine Services — which was also sanctioned on Thursday by the UK.

Ocean Amz was previously managed by Star Voyages Shipping Services of Dubai — based in the same one-desk office as Radiating World Shipping Services — and was also blacklisted by the UK in December.

The cargo ship sanctioned was the 7,630-dwt Lady R (built 2004), which the US said had loaded weapons in December 2022 from a South African naval base.

The South African government said that an independent inquiry had cleared the country’s government of allegations that it was supplying arms to Russia. A second cargo ship, the 7,311-dwt Angara (built 1998) was also blacklisted because it was suspected of transporting weapons.

The other ship blacklisted by the UK is the Gabon-flagged 116,000-dwt NS Laguna (built 2007) linked to Russian state carrier Sovcomflot.