BRUSSELS — The European Union and the Group of Seven (G7) nations tightened the oil price cap on Russian seaborne exports in recent days, widening sanctions on tankers and the services that keep them moving, Dec. 27, 2025.
Officials say the crackdown is aimed at shrinking the revenue Russia earns from oil — and limiting what it can spend on its war in Ukraine — by squeezing access to Western shipping, insurance and port services.
In a Dec. 18 EU Council statement, the bloc said it sanctioned 41 additional vessels tied to Russia’s “shadow fleet,” adding them to a list subject to port access bans and restrictions on a broad range of maritime transport services. The Council said the measure targets non-EU tankers that help circumvent the oil price cap mechanism or support Russia’s energy sector, among other activities.
“The EU remains ready to step up pressure on Russia and its shadow fleet value chain,” the Council said, noting the latest designations lift the total number of listed vessels to almost 600.
The move follows the EU’s 19th sanctions package adopted in October, which added 117 vessels — bringing the total at the time to 557 — and included a ban on reinsuring ships linked to the shadow fleet.
Meanwhile, the cap’s backers are debating whether tighter policing is enough. Reuters reported that the EU and G7 are weighing a full ban on Western maritime services for Russian oil exports, potentially replacing the current oil price cap framework in a further attempt to restrict Moscow’s earnings.
How the oil price cap works — and what’s changing
The oil price cap allows coalition-country firms to provide maritime transport and related services for Russian-origin crude and petroleum products only when those cargos are sold at or below specified ceilings. An EU sanctions overview says the bloc’s ceilings are $47.60 per barrel for crude, $45 for discounted petroleum products and $100 for premium petroleum products.
Supporters argue the model tries to cut the Kremlin’s take per barrel without triggering a global supply shock, because it still permits some Russian oil to flow to third countries if it is priced under the oil price cap.
Oil price cap enforcement has tightened since 2022
The policy traces back to late 2022, when the G7 and Australia set a $60-per-barrel ceiling for seaborne Russian crude and said they would monitor effectiveness and adjust the cap if needed.
In 2023, the U.S. Treasury said it was tightening enforcement by sanctioning actors accused of moving Russian crude above the oil price cap and by strengthening compliance expectations for covered service providers.
By 2024, the coalition also published an updated Price Cap Coalition advisory urging stronger due diligence and documentation as opaque ownership structures, aging tankers and other “shadow” practices grew more common in sanctioned oil trades.
Whether the latest steps curb revenue or simply push more barrels into harder-to-track routes may hinge on enforcement at ports, in insurance markets and across the shipping industry. For the EU and its partners, the goal is clear: make it costlier and riskier to evade the oil price cap, and reduce the cash Russia can divert to its war.
