EU and UK Sanction UAE Firm Backing Russia's Tanker Fleet

The flag of Gabon
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Updated Published

The United Kingdom and the European Union have imposed sanctions on Intershipping Services, a company based in the United Arab Emirates that oversees the shipping registries for Gabon and Comoros. These two flags have been heavily utilized by vessels moving Russian oil in defiance of international sanctions.

Announced Friday, the penalties are part of broader sanction packages and represent one of the clearest moves by Western powers to disrupt the operations behind Russia’s shadow oil fleet.

EU investigators report that Intershipping Services operates out of an office in a Dubai suburb, while its Comoros registry is run by an affiliated office located in Mumbai.

After Russia’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine, ships previously registered under stricter flags began switching to Gabon’s registry. This included many tankers from Sovcomflot, the Russian state-owned company under Western sanctions. By 2024, Gabon had become the fastest-growing ship registry globally—driven largely by Russian oil transport.

Both the Gabonese and Comoros registries have drawn ongoing concern from international authorities. Comoros, in particular, has become associated with unsafe practices at sea. It appears on the Paris Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) blacklist, has been red-flagged by the U.S. Coast Guard, and is one of the leading flags linked to abandoned crew cases, as reported by the International Transport Workers’ Federation.

Comoros has also been involved in shipments tied to Iran, and both it and Gabon are frequently flagged in sanctions advisories involving unauthorized trade with Venezuela, Iran, and Russia. One example is the tanker Pablo, which was flying the Gabonese flag when it exploded off Malaysia’s coast in 2023.

The UK’s sanctions were announced in tandem with its alignment to the EU’s decision to lower the price cap on Russian crude from $60 to $47.60 per barrel. The move is intended to further restrict Russia’s oil revenues. However, its effectiveness is uncertain without support from the U.S., as most oil trades continue to rely on the U.S. dollar.

The United States has yet to adopt the EU’s floating cap approach, widening a rift between Western allies over how best to enforce oil-related sanctions. Without U.S. backing, some experts doubt the latest measures will significantly affect the earnings of Russia’s shadow fleet.