Danish Shipping Supports EU’s New Russian Sanctions Package

The EU has just adopted its 16th sanctions package against Russia. The package targets systemically important sectors of the Russian economy such as energy, trade, transport, infrastructure and financial services.

To curb the risk of our sanctions being bypassed, certain provisions of the 16th package are now also mirrored in the Belarus sanctions regime. 

The EU has in addition updated and strengthened its sanctions regimes concerning Crimea and Sevastopol, and the non-government-controlled areas of Donetsk, Kherson, Luhansk and Zaporizhzhia oblasts.

Danish Shipping has stated that it fully supports the strongest possible sanctions. With the latest sanctions package, 74 new vessels are added to the sanctions list, bringing the total to 153. Among many other measures, the package also focuses on taking action against those who support the operation of unsafe oil tankers.

"Anything that makes it operationally easier for Danish shipping companies to identify which ships, owners, operators and ship managers are on the EU’s sanctions list is very welcome. We and our members have absolutely no interest in or desire to support the Russian war economy in any way. That is why we have also welcomed the government's new forum on sanctions, where these matters will be discussed. It would also be very positive if the different sanctions lists from the EU, the US, and the UK were harmonized and updated more quickly," said Anne H. Steffensen, CEO of Danish Shipping.

As part of the sanctions, there is a full transaction ban on specific Russian infrastructure inculding two Moscow airports (Vnukovo Airport and Zhukovsky Airport), four regional airports, and the Volga port Astrakhan and Makhachkala port on the Caspian Sea. The sea ports Ust-Luga and Primorsk on the Baltic Sea and Novorossiysk on the Black Sea are also included.

The EU has completely prohibited temporary storage or the placement under free zone procedures of Russian crude oil or petroleum products in EU ports, which was until now allowed if the oil complied with the price cap and went to a third country.  

The package extends the prohibition to provide goods, technology and services for the completion of Russian LNG projects to also apply to crude oil projects in Russia, such as the Vostok oil project.  

The package extends the existing software ban to restrict the export, supply or provision of oil and gas exploration software to Russia.