"US Treasury's Intensifying Hunt for Russian Oil Sanction Violators at Sea"

The U.S. Treasury Department's Office of Foreign Assets Control has sanctioned three vessels and shipping companies for violating Russian oil sanctions, as part of its intensified efforts to cut off the Kremlin's access to oil profits. However, the hunt for violators is revealing complexities in the maritime industry and the Treasury's own guidelines. The location of shipping companies may differ from the location of the beneficial owner, and there are grey areas in the guidelines that can be exploited to circumvent sanctions. The Treasury's probe of approximately 30 ship management companies suspected of violating a price cap on Russian oil further highlights the challenges in identifying and proving violations. The murkiness within the Russian oil trade, including the use of dark and grey fleet vessels, makes tracking and enforcing sanctions difficult.