LONDON (Reuters) – Britain on Thursday imposed sanctions on five ships and two related entities involved in the transport of Russian liquefied natural gas (LNG), the government said in the first use of new legal powers to directly target LNG carriers.
“Earlier this year, the UK sanctioned Arctic LNG 2, along with our allies in the US and EU. The project has since been forced to drastically cut production,” the government statement said.
“Today’s action builds on this and targets vessels and entities involved in Russia’s LNG sector and those involved in projects important to Russia’s future energy production.”
The sanctioned entities on Thursday were White Fox Ship Management and Ocean Speedstar Solutions OPC. The vessels were Asya Energy, Pioneer, North Sky, SCF La Perouse and Nova Energy.
Earlier this month, Britain imposed sanctions on a further 10 vessels from Russia's so-called “shadow fleet”, which it says uses illegal practices to circumvent Western restrictions on Russian oil.
Russia is resisting Western pressure to limit its oil exports. Over the past year, the number of tankers carrying cargoes not regulated or insured by conventional Western providers has increased.
(Reporting by Muvija M, Writing by Kylie MacLellan; Editing by William James)
