A Russian shipowner has ended up on the US blacklist as Washington levied sanctions against more than 230 Russian entities and individuals to mark the one-year anniversary of the war in Ukraine.
St Petersburg-based Pola Raiz, also spelled Pola Rise, and its 22 general cargo ships were caught up in the mass sanctions as the US targeted oligarchs, wealth management firms, defense companies and mining firms as it looks to further punish Russia for invading Ukraine last February.
“[The company was sanctioned for] operating or for having operated in the marine sector of the Russian Federation economy,” the US State Department said.
“Pola Raiz is a Russian shipping company involved in increasing Russia’s trade with Turkey and facilitating shipments of materials to Arctic construction sites.”
The company, which could not be reached for comment, is listed in shipping databases as the registered owner and commercial manager for 21 ships and only as the commercial manager for a single ship, the 8,126-dwt Astrol-1 (built 2020), whose owner is SC Astrol.
Besides the 17,100-dwt Pola Dudinka (built 2000), Pola Raiz’s entire fleet was built between 2017 and 2020, and 19 have or have had connections to previously sanctioned JSC State Transport Leasing Co, also known as GTLK, according to Clarksons.
The broker lists GTLK as the owner of 14 of Pola Raiz’s ships with Pola Raiz as the operator. Shipping databases list five more as having been owned and managed by GTLK in the past.
Sanctions against GTLK have complicated at least one shipping deal, with Oslo-listed Havila Kystruten fined earlier this month by Norwegian authorities as it worked to replace a financing deal with the Russian firm for another.
AIS data processed by VesselsValue shows nearly the entire fleet trading in the Black Sea, with some ships also trading in the Caspian Sea.
Only the Pola Dudinka and the 8,144-dwt Pola Maria (built 2020) have visited the Russian Arctic in the last year.
Three other companies were also sanctioned for operating in Russia’s marine sector: Marine Arctic Geological Expedition, Lenmorniiproekt and Taimyrnefegaz-Port.
Lenmorniiproekt and Taimyrneftegaz-Port are involved in design and construction work for a terminal that is part of the Vostok Oil Project.
The US said the sanctions were some of the most extensive to date. It targets both domestic entities, including smaller banks and wealth management firms, and figures as well as foreign companies and individuals helping to evade sanctions.
“Over the past year, we have taken actions with a historic coalition of international partners to degrade Russia’s military-industrial complex and reduce the revenues that it uses to fund its war,” US Treasury secretary Janet Yellen said.
“Our sanctions have had both short-term and long-term impact, seen acutely in Russia’s struggle to replenish its weapons and in its isolated economy. Our actions today with our G7 partners show that we will stand with Ukraine for as long as it takes.”
