On the sidelines of the annual G7 summit, held from May 19 to 21 in Hiroshima, Japan, during which the heads of state and government of the seven most developed economies (Canada, France, the United States, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom) were to discuss, among other things, ways to further tighten the Russian economy, the United States and the United Kingdom announced additional sanctions.

Even as the EU finalizes its 11th round of sanctions, the US State Department announced that it has blacklisted " more than 300 personalities, companies, ships and aircraft, across Europe, the Middle East and Asia ».

The American authorities – the Departments of State, Commerce and the Treasury – justify this new tightening of the screw by the desire to undermine all sources of energy revenue for Russia but also to pin down practices aimed at evading sanctions.

Rosatom targeted

The new entities listed target all activities likely to be involved in the country's capacity to produce and export in a series of sectors, including a good number in the energy and maritime sectors, notably shipbuilding, mining equipment, engineering, etc.

La Federal state unitary enterprise hydrographic, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Rosatom that provides dredging services to the Vostok Oil project in the Arctic region, has been sanctioned along with its four vessels.

In the view of US state department, drilling services provider Inkomneft, shipbuilder Samusskiy Sudostroitelno Sudoremontniy Zavod, which has built up to ten vessels for Arctic shipping, and five other companies involved in the development of the Arctic port of Indiga.

Grains and minerals in the sights

At the same time, the US Department of State banned Polimetall, the Russian holding company of a major gold and silver producer.

Also targeted are companies suspected of using shell companies, falsifying documents and exploiting " maritime escape techniques " to divert Ukrainian varieties to Russian origin. A reaction to the theft of cereals in Ukraine of which the American authorities claim to have proof.

Pawell Shipping, the registered owner of a general cargo vessel flying the Syrian flag, is thus presumed to have participated in this trade of manipulation.

71 export entities

Also, the department of commerce imposed export controls on 71 entities. The Office of Foreign Assets Control The Treasury Department has blacklisted more than one dozen research and teaching institutions, among which Gazprom VNIIGAZ, Gazprom's main research center, and Gazpromneft NNGGF, which offers technological services for well drilling.

Sun Ship Management and its links with Sovcomflot

For its part, the British Foreign Office listed nine organizations linked to Rosatom, including Umatex, a producer of carbon fiber composite materials that could be used for military purposes.

Following the example of the EU, which is seeking to limit imports of Russian LNG, which has so far been spared by measures targeting oil and oil products, the authorities across the Channel have imposed sanctions Sun Ship Management for its links with Sovcomflot, Russia's largest state-owned oil company. Sun Ship Management operates a fleet of 86 tankers with a total capacity of 8,3 million dwt from Dubai.

LNG still under study

Russian natural gas imports by pipeline into the EU have evaporated since the invasion of Ukraine, but European companies are importing more Russian liquefied natural gas than ever before. In 2021, LNG imports from Russia amounted to around 16 billion m3, compared to 22 billion in 2022. In complete contradiction with the initial objective put forward: to reduce dependence on Russian energy by diversifying sourcing.

The 27 member states have been working for several weeks on a mechanism that would allow this anomaly to be corrected without going through the difficult process of introducing new sanctions.

The so-called opaque fleet still in the crosshairs

The European Commission could also, as part of the 11th package of sanctions, take measures against practices of concealing illicit operations, starting with the transfer of oil on the high seas carried out by ships in an opaque manner, which has been booming since the invasion of Ukraine.

It is also known that several States, including Spain, put pressure on the International Maritime Organization (IMO) in April to include this subject on the agenda of the next session of the Marine Environment Protection Committee (MEPC 80 in July).

When the issue was raised, EU President Ursula Von der Leyen said she was working closely with the G7 on this. In any case, nothing has come out of the annual summit at this stage. A decision that ship operators are apprehensive about, particularly because of the legal complexity of the texts and implementing decrees. If the operation is legally and technically possible.

Iran never far from American ostracism

Washington also sanctioned the shipping company Khazar Sea Shipping Lines (part of the Islamic Republic of Iran Shipping Lines, the country's largest company) due to " its increasingly close ties between Russia and Iran »

They are no longer in doubt. Last week, Russian President Vladimir Putin and his Iranian counterpart Ebrahim Raisi committed to funding ($1,6 billion) the construction of the final rail section of a larger North-South transport corridor project to link India, Iran, Russia, Azerbaijan and other countries by rail and sea. An alternative route that Russia says could rival the Suez Canal.

The 162-km Rasht-Astara railway line along the Caspian Sea coast has been under consideration since 2000, repeatedly delayed due to lack of funding.

Combined with a maritime link across the Caspian between Iran and the Volga, the rail corridor is expected to improve connectivity between Russian ports on the Baltic Sea and Iranian ports on the Indian Ocean and the Gulf, especially the major container port of Bandar Abbas. In doing so, it offers a new route to evade Western sanctions on Russian trade.

Meanwhile, on the same day, Russia and Iran also agreed to facilitate rapid customs clearance of cross-border cargo. The increase in the number of goods traded in this corridor, including technological products, will lead to an increase in the volume of trade transactions. ", said Ruslan Davydov, head of the Federal Customs Service in Russia.

Adeline Descamps