Germany launches insurance crackdown on Russian ‘shadow fleet’

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Germany has increased checks on tankers in the Baltic Sea as it seeks to deter Russia’s shadow fleet of ageing vessels from circumventing western oil sanctions.

German maritime authorities said on Tuesday they had started requesting insurance documentation from tankers heading east through the 18km-wide strait, which separates the small, north German island of Fehmarn and the southern Danish coastline on the island of Lolland.

A failure to meet European regulation could lead to “Europe-wide monitoring” and “the ships being placed on a sanctions list,” the government said in a statement.

The initiative is part of co-ordinated attempts by northern European countries to crack down on Moscow’s fleet of old vessels transiting through their waters without proper paperwork and helping the Kremlin evade G7 oil price caps that were imposed as part of retaliation for its war on Ukraine. Sweden also increased its controls on Tuesday.

G7 sanctions bar western insurers from offering cover to ships that breach the terms of the oil price cap, which seeks to stop Russia from selling oil above a fixed price of $60 a barrel for crude. Ships in Moscow’s “shadow fleet” often either use insurers whose reliability is unknown or hold no accident insurance.

German foreign minister Johann Wadephul said: “Our goal is very clear: we are increasing the pressure on the Russian shadow fleet and protecting the Baltic Sea habitat.”

Patrick Schneider, the transport minister, added: “By asking about the insurance status, we are adding another piece to the puzzle. The more complete the picture, the sooner we can take measures together with our partners in the Baltic Sea region, including the listing of ships on sanctions lists.”

Concerns about insurance cover have increased in the past years, with coastal states fearing potential oil spills. Shadow fleet tankers were involved in nearly 30 accidents during 2022 and 2023, according to evidence provided by the Kyiv School of Economics, a non-profit, to a UK select committee hearing on the effectiveness of sanctions on Russia.

About 692,000 barrels of crude oil per day were shipped through the Baltic on vessels that did not have recognised western insurance in April, according to the most recent estimates by the KSE.

The EU has sought to increase pressure on Moscow as US President Donald Trump has pursued a ceasefire settlement with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin over Ukraine. The European Commission has been working on an 18th package of economic sanctions, which includes a proposal to lower the oil price cap from $60 to $45.

However, EU leaders failed last week to adopt the new punitive measures because of opposition from Slovakia, which still relies heavily on Russian oil and gas.