A European Union (EU) plan to sanction Russian oil would prevent a wide range of European maritime players from helping carry the commodity even to third countries, where buying it will remain legal.
According to a draft leaked by Bloomberg, the EU aims to prohibit “any vessel registered under the flag of a member state or owned, chartered, operated or otherwise controlled by a national of a member state or any legal person … of a member state” from transporting Russian crude or petroleum products to third countries.
Similar provisions would apply to the provision of “technical assistance, brokering services, financing or financial assistance, or any other services” related to such transport.
The envisaged bans specifically extend to ship-to-ship transfers.
The draft spells out a sixth package of sanctions against Russia formally proposed on Wednesday by the European Commission — the EU organ in charge of drafting and executing the bloc’s decisions.
Under the plan, Europe would stop importing crude oil from Russia in six months and oil products by the end of 2022.
EU member states have to formally sign off on the proposals before they take effect, however, and have the right to modify them.
According to Greek media reports, EU members such as Greece, Malta and Cyprus, which are among the world’s biggest shipowning and ship management hubs, are already said to have criticised the plan’s maritime provisions for providing an unfair advantage to non-EU owners.
Other EU member states, such as Hungary and Slovakia, which depend on Russian oil, have even reportedly threatened to veto it, to obtain multi-year exemptions from the import ban.
