EU Targets Lukoil and Gazprom Neft Shipping Arms with Fresh Sanctions

The European Union has imposed sanctions on the shipping structures of two of Russia's largest oil companies, Lukoil and Gazprom Neft, in a move that tightens the financial pressure on Moscow's energy export infrastructure. According to a resolution of the EU Council issued on June 15, the entities Gazpromneft Shipping and Lukoil Western Siberia have been added to the bloc's sanctions list.

Gazpromneft Shipping, a Russian shipping company headquartered in St Petersburg and specialising in technical support, has been identified as the manager of three vessels: the Omsk, the Olanga and the Murmansk, the document notes. Lukoil Western Siberia, similarly based in St Petersburg and defined as a shipping company, is the commercial operator of the Oven, the Neva Lux and the Nimbus, according to the EU's listing.

In explanatory notes accompanying the designations, Brussels stated that the vessels in question do not carry proper liability insurance and are engaged in ship-to-ship transfers, practices described as irregular and high-risk. It is further alleged that these vessels use automatic identification systems when transporting oil and petroleum products exported from Russia, a method that, sources indicate, forms part of a broader pattern of sanctions evasion.

Lukoil Western Siberia, a subsidiary of the Lukoil group, is registered in Kogalym, in the Khanty-Mansi Autonomous District, and is primarily engaged in oil and gas production. The address cited in the EU's sanctions list was once the registered location of Lukoil Bunker, a company that was liquidated in 2019, the resolution noted. The matter came to light as the EU continues to broaden its restrictive measures against Russian energy logistics, targeting the maritime backbone that sustains Moscow's oil exports despite existing sanctions.