The United Kingdom unveiled a major package of sanctions against Russia on 16 June, including measures targeting vessels carrying Russian liquefied natural gas for the first time. London thereby becomes the first G7 country to sanction LNG carriers recently acquired by Russia to service the “Arctic LNG 2” project, itself already under Western sanctions.
The package was presented on the opening day of the G7 summit in Évian, on the shores of Lake Geneva, held from 15 to 17 June under the French presidency. The British measures follow similar steps by the European Union and target, according to the government, 43 individuals and entities as well as 27 vessels of the “shadow fleet”. Among the vessels are four LNG carriers; publications cite the names “Merkuriy,” “Kosmos,” and “Luch.”
Until now, pressure on Russia’s maritime logistics had focused mainly on oil. London is now extending it to gas exports. According to British authorities, the “Arctic LNG 2” project provides the Kremlin with a stream of “dirty” revenue. The United States sanctioned this project back in late 2023, just as production was getting under way there, forcing its foreign shareholders to suspend their participation.
Britain’s weight in the maritime insurance market amplifies the measure’s reach. As the world’s leading provider of marine protection and indemnity (P&I) insurance, the country has, for the first time, sanctioned LNG carriers transporting Russian gas. With this new package, the total number of “shadow fleet” vessels and Russian LNG carriers targeted by British sanctions is approaching 600.
On 14 June, Royal Marines commandos, in the first operation led by the United Kingdom, boarded and detained a Russian “shadow fleet” vessel as it transited the English Channel. The tanker Smyrtos, sailing under a Cameroonian flag, was carrying around 700,000 barrels of Russian oil and was bound from Ust-Luga to Port Said, Egypt; following the raid, National Crime Agency officers detained an Indian national suspected of breaching the sanctions regime.
It was in March 2026 that Prime Minister Keir Starmer authorised the military to inspect and detain vessels suspected of aiding Russian oil exports. Commenting on the new package, he said the measures struck at the “vessels, the money and the actors” propping up Russia’s war economy and threatening European security.
