The European Union has blacklisted Mumbai based Vigor Marine Services LLP as part of a round of listings against companies involved in shipping Russian crude and petroleum products, the EU said in its statement on the measures. Nine companies in total were blacklisted for involvement in Russian crude shipping and illegal oil transfers at sea, according to reporting of the package, and Vigor was sanctioned because two of its ships had carried Russian energy products.
The practices the EU cited go to the mechanics of the shadow fleet. The listed activities include offering insurance related services, conducting ship to ship transfers and tampering with the Automatic Identification System, the transponder system that broadcasts a ship’s location in real time. Ukrinform’s account of the Council action named the wider set of circumvention listings, which also includes DIS Logistics DMCC, Shiva Shipping Ltd and Hurus Trade FZE, a trading intermediary supplying Russian origin crude oil to India.
A Dubai based trading company that supplied Russian crude to India, especially to Nayara Energy, was also targeted, extending the listings from ship management into the trading chain that places Russian barrels with Indian refiners. Nayara itself was already on the EU blacklist before this round.
The listings were part of additional restrictive measures the Council adopted this week in response to Russia’s continued war against Ukraine, with EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas presenting them as a means of making it more difficult and expensive for Russia to sustain the war. For Indian shipping and refining, the practical effect is narrower and more concrete: a Mumbai manager is now a designated party, which raises counterparty, insurance and port services risk for any vessel it manages.