By Sachin Ravikumar, Enes Tunagur and Anna Hirtenstein
LONDON (Reuters) -Britain sanctioned 20 ships on Tuesday for allegedly carrying illicit Russian oil, its latest measures targeting Russia’s so-called shadow fleet in response to the 2022 invasion of Ukraine.
The British government also said in a statement that it had imposed sanctions on 2Rivers DMCC and 2Rivers PTE LTD, alleging they enabled the trading of Russian oil.
2Rivers said in a statement: “Coral/2Rivers Energy is deeply disappointed by the decision of the UK Foreign, Commonwealth, & Development Office (FCDO) to impose sanctions.”
“This action fails to reflect the company’s current structure, leadership, and operations following significant transformations over the past year, and a full exit from Russian trading activities,” it added.
The company said it would challenge the decision through legal and diplomatic channels, and said it is actively engaged in “open dialogue” with regulatory bodies including the U.S. Office of Foreign Assets Control and EU authorities.
A source with direct knowledge of the matter told Reuters that although several banks paused new deals with 2Rivers after the sanctions, none have cut ties with the company, which works with about 15 banks in Europe and several in the Middle East.
2Rivers Group rebranded from Coral Energy after a management buyout earlier this year. It said it suspended Russian trading in 2023. Coral Energy was one of the major buyers of Russian oil and products in 2021 and 2022.
Britain’s government said in a statement that the sanctions would constrain President Vladimir Putin’s war effort.
“These sanctions will add further pressure to Putin’s stalling war economy,” said British Prime Minister Keir Starmer.
The Russian embassy in London said in a statement that the sanctions targeted oil tankers under the flags of various nations, and the move marked “yet another futile attempt to hamper international trade”.
“While it will not stem the flow of goods, it may well increase global energy market volatility. This … would, in turn, adversely affect household energy prices. Obviously, the bill will be for ordinary Britons to pay,” the embassy said.
It added: “Are geopolitical games more important for British politicians than keeping promises to their own people?”
The ships sanctioned include Ocean Faye, Andaman Skies and Mianzimu, which the British government said have each carried more than 4 million barrels of Russian oil this year.
The measures restrict or prohibit their movement and access to some British ports.
Britain and 11 other Western nations agreed on Monday to measures to “disrupt and deter” Russia’s shadow fleet.
Starmer also announced 35 million pounds ($44 million) of emergency support to help Ukraine repair its energy grid.
($1 = 0.7879 pounds)
(Reporting by Robert Harvey, Sachin Ravikumar, Enes Tunagur and Anna Hirtenstein; Editing by William James, Alexander Smith and Leslie Adler)
