On the second anniversary of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the United States on Friday imposed sanctions on 14 oil tankers from the “ghost fleet” used by Moscow to avoid a limit set by Western countries on Russian oil prices, AFP reported.

The sanctions, announced in a statement by the US Treasury Department, are aimed at Russia’s national shipping company Sovcomflot, which gives it 45 days to unload oil or other cargo from 14 vessels.

This “ghost fleet” allowed Russia to reduce the impact on its revenues of the oil price ceiling mechanism established by a coalition of Western countries.

“The Kremlin’s attempt to avoid price caps by investing in a phantom fleet (…) allowed it to achieve higher world prices for its oil last summer and fall,” a Finance Ministry official told reporters.

A coalition of G7 countries, the European Union (EU) and Australia established a system of limiting prices for Russian oil in December 2022.

Insurers and reinsurers are prohibited from covering the transportation of Russian oil to the countries of this coalition, unless it is sold at a price below the limit.

This led to a reduction in Russia’s income from the export of oil and oil products by a third in 2023 compared to 2022, according to the coalition countries.

Targeting this phantom fleet “forces Russia to choose between using coalition services to deliver its oil at a price below the ceiling,” or doing so “through the phantom fleet and facing rising costs and tougher sanctions from Western authorities,” he explained. an official of the Ministry of Finance.

“Restrictions on Russian oil prices continue to serve the dual purpose of limiting the Kremlin’s profits while promoting stability in energy markets,” US Assistant Treasury Secretary Wally Adeyemo was quoted as saying in a statement.

“Today we take the next step by targeting Russia’s largest shipping company and state fleet operator, dealing a significant blow to their parallel operations,” he added.

The representative of the treasury noted that “the G7 countries account for 90% of the global services market.”

These additional sanctions are in addition to those announced earlier in the day by the Biden administration, which affected more than 500 individuals and entities, the largest package of sanctions since the beginning of the war in Ukraine on February 24, 2022.

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