South Korean fuel reaching Russia aboard sanctioned tankers

Fuel shipments surge over summer

An analysis of port records and vessel-tracking data found that seven tankers made 14 voyages carrying over 176,000 tonnes of fuel, mostly diesel, from several South Korean ports to Russia's far eastern coast in July and August. Three of the tankers, including the largest carrier involved, are under UK and EU sanctions. In one case, cargo was transferred ship-to-ship in South Korean waters, a technique that can hide where fuel originated and avoids port calls altogether.

Isaac Levi, an analyst at the Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air, said the loadings undermine both the sanctions regime and South Korea's stated backing of Ukraine.

Seoul's balancing act

South Korea has provided Ukraine with humanitarian aid and non-lethal equipment such as body armour, helmets and demining vehicles, and pledged $2.3bn in 2023, mostly as loans. At the same time it has refused to send weapons directly, consistent with its policy of not arming countries at war, while Russia has signalled interest in rebuilding ties with Seoul. The fuel trade does not appear to violate South Korean law, since its own Russia-related restrictions focus on export controls for machinery, electronics and vehicles rather than fuel cargoes.

Russia's refining squeeze

Ukrainian drone strikes have badly damaged Russian refining capacity, pushing throughput to a more-than-20-year low in June and cutting diesel output by nearly 30% year-on-year, according to the International Energy Agency. Shipping data analysed by CREA shows Russia imported 368,000 tonnes of fuel by sea in August, seven times the previous month, with South Korea supplying 31% of that total — second only to India.

The surge began in July, around the same time President Lee Jae Myung pledged $100m toward Ukraine's reconstruction at a Nato summit. South Korea's foreign ministry did not directly address the shipments, saying only that it backs international efforts to end the war and has expanded export controls to cover 1,402 additional items.