New Zealand targets shadow fleet in expanded Russia sanctions

WELLINGTON (Reuters) -New Zealand on Thursday announced expanded sanctions on Russia's oil industry and shadow fleet while meeting with the Nordic 5 foreign ministers in Stockholm.

New Zealand's Foreign Minister Winston Peters said in a statement that New Zealand was sanctioning a further 65 shadow fleet vessels and actors from Belarus, Iran and North Korea involved in refining and transporting Russian oil, and in facilitating oil-related payments. 

The so-called shadow fleet is made up of tankers that transport sanctioned cargoes from countries such as Iran, Russia and Venezuela, concealing their trade with fake locations, documents and names.

"These actors are part of a broader network enabling the trade in Russian oil, undermining global efforts to curtail funding for Russia’s illegal war,” Peters said. “By targeting the oil supply chain, New Zealand is acting decisively in support of international efforts to bring Russia to the negotiating table.”

The announcement comes after Reuters first published on Tuesday that Maritime Mutual, a small insurer headquartered in New Zealand, had helped in the trade of tens of billions of dollars of Iranian and Russian oil by providing vessels skirting Western sanctions with the insurance they need to enter ports.

(Reporting by Lucy Craymer; Editing by Daniel Wallis)