U.S. Sanctions Seven More Russian Shipping Companies
President Joe Biden Culed from Bloomberg/Geity photos
As Italy Seizes $700M Megayacht With Links to Putin
(TME)The U.S. has placed sanctions on seven Russian shipping companies and dozens of vessels in connection with the ongoing invasion of Ukraine, Secretary of State Anthony Blinken announced Sunday.
In a statement, Blinken said that the U.S. Treasury and the Department of State have sanctioned the Russian Ministry of Defense’s internal shipping company and six other shipping firms that move its military equipment. It has also listed 69 of their ships as blocked property.
The companies include Oboronlogistika, the Russian Ministry of Defense’s own shipping company; SC South LLC, one of its shipping subsidiaries; Northern Shipping Company, which participates in Russian exercises and moves Russian military equipment; and Transmorflot, M Leasing LLC, Marine Trans Shipping LLC and Nord Project LLC Transport Company, which have all allegedly moved Russian weapons. Northern Shipping Company and Transmorflot have the greatest exposure, with 27 and 16 vessels sanctioned respectively.
The Treasury also sanctioned hydrographic survey and dive company OOO Fertoing. The firm operates ROVs, performs complex marine surveys, and provides technical support for offshore oil and gas, pipelines and other high-end marine projects for the Russian government and its state-owned enterprises. It has played a role in some of Russia’s most high-profile marine projects, like the installation of the Prirazlomnaya offshore oil platform and the construction of the Siberian port of Sabetta. Fertoing will now be blocked from accessing U.S. technology on the open market.
The United States has already imposed sanctions on the Russian Maritime Register of Shipping; Sovcomflot, the largest shipping company in Russia; and United Shipbuilding Corporation, the country’s largest and most sophisticated shipbuilder.
Sunday’s announcement also includes new sanctions on a broad swathe of Russia’s state-owned media and banking sectors. The state propaganda networks Russia-1, Channel One, and NTV have been blacklisted, restricting their ability to earn foreign revenue for the Russian state. In addition, top executives from a broad range of Russian corporations – including the entire board of Sberbank, Russia’s largest bank – have been individually named on the sanctions list.
It would be recalled that the government of Italy has seized the megayacht Scheherazade in connection with EU sanctions on Russia, bringing an end to months of speculation about the vessel’s fate.
Scheherazade has long been rumored to be the property of Russian President Vladimir Putin, though no definitive proof has been released. Her majority-Russian crew drew local attention in Marina di Carrara, where she is moored, and even more attention when they all left following the invasion of Ukraine. Researchers working for Russian politician Alexei Navalny claim to have obtained records that suggest that half of Scheherazade’s crew were employed by Putin’s personal security service, the FSO.
According to Italian media, investigators believe that the beneficial owner is former Rosneft executive Eduard Khudainatov, an oil magnate and associate of Putin. Khudainatov is not explicitly named on any sanctions list.
The announcement by Italy’s finance ministry said only that its investigators had found “significant economic and business links of the beneficial owner of the boat Scheherazade with prominent elements of the Russian government,” without naming the owner.
A ministry spokesman told the Washington Post that the asset seizure was provisional, and that Italy has asked the European Council to add the owner’s name to the Ukraine invasion sanctions list.
At 460 feet in length, Scheherazade is among the largest private yachts in the world. It is equipped with six cabins, a Turkish bath, 22 cabins, a crew complement of 94 and an indoor swimming pool. It is owned by a holding company in the Marshall Islands, managed in Monaco and flagged in the Cayman Islands.
*Culled from The Maritime Executive
(TME)The U.S. has placed sanctions on seven Russian shipping companies and dozens of vessels in connection with the ongoing invasion of Ukraine, Secretary of State Anthony Blinken announced Sunday.
In a statement, Blinken said that the U.S. Treasury and the Department of State have sanctioned the Russian Ministry of Defense’s internal shipping company and six other shipping firms that move its military equipment. It has also listed 69 of their ships as blocked property.
The companies include Oboronlogistika, the Russian Ministry of Defense’s own shipping company; SC South LLC, one of its shipping subsidiaries; Northern Shipping Company, which participates in Russian exercises and moves Russian military equipment; and Transmorflot, M Leasing LLC, Marine Trans Shipping LLC and Nord Project LLC Transport Company, which have all allegedly moved Russian weapons. Northern Shipping Company and Transmorflot have the greatest exposure, with 27 and 16 vessels sanctioned respectively.
The Treasury also sanctioned hydrographic survey and dive company OOO Fertoing. The firm operates ROVs, performs complex marine surveys, and provides technical support for offshore oil and gas, pipelines and other high-end marine projects for the Russian government and its state-owned enterprises. It has played a role in some of Russia’s most high-profile marine projects, like the installation of the Prirazlomnaya offshore oil platform and the construction of the Siberian port of Sabetta. Fertoing will now be blocked from accessing U.S. technology on the open market.
The United States has already imposed sanctions on the Russian Maritime Register of Shipping; Sovcomflot, the largest shipping company in Russia; and United Shipbuilding Corporation, the country’s largest and most sophisticated shipbuilder.
Sunday’s announcement also includes new sanctions on a broad swathe of Russia’s state-owned media and banking sectors. The state propaganda networks Russia-1, Channel One, and NTV have been blacklisted, restricting their ability to earn foreign revenue for the Russian state. In addition, top executives from a broad range of Russian corporations – including the entire board of Sberbank, Russia’s largest bank – have been individually named on the sanctions list.
It would be recalled that the government of Italy has seized the megayacht Scheherazade in connection with EU sanctions on Russia, bringing an end to months of speculation about the vessel’s fate.
Scheherazade has long been rumored to be the property of Russian President Vladimir Putin, though no definitive proof has been released. Her majority-Russian crew drew local attention in Marina di Carrara, where she is moored, and even more attention when they all left following the invasion of Ukraine. Researchers working for Russian politician Alexei Navalny claim to have obtained records that suggest that half of Scheherazade’s crew were employed by Putin’s personal security service, the FSO.
According to Italian media, investigators believe that the beneficial owner is former Rosneft executive Eduard Khudainatov, an oil magnate and associate of Putin. Khudainatov is not explicitly named on any sanctions list.
The announcement by Italy’s finance ministry said only that its investigators had found “significant economic and business links of the beneficial owner of the boat Scheherazade with prominent elements of the Russian government,” without naming the owner.
A ministry spokesman told the Washington Post that the asset seizure was provisional, and that Italy has asked the European Council to add the owner’s name to the Ukraine invasion sanctions list.
At 460 feet in length, Scheherazade is among the largest private yachts in the world. It is equipped with six cabins, a Turkish bath, 22 cabins, a crew complement of 94 and an indoor swimming pool. It is owned by a holding company in the Marshall Islands, managed in Monaco and flagged in the Cayman Islands.
*Culled from The Maritime Executive
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