The EU is seeking to boost the bloc’s powers to board vessels in Russia’s shadow fleet for inspections, according to a document prepared for Monday’s meeting of EU foreign ministers and seen by POLITICO.

The issue of ships transporting Russian oil sailing under different flags to escape EU sanctions has wide implications for the bloc as those vessels not only help to boost Moscow’s war economy but also “pose threats to the environment and to navigation safety,” according to the five-page document prepared by the European External Action Service, the EU diplomatic arm.

The shadow fleet ships also are a risk for critical infrastructure and “can be used as platforms for hybrid attacks against EU territory,” the document states. The vessels are in some cases suspected to be launch pads for Russian drones used to reconnoiter critical Western sites and disrupt civilian airports.

The EEAS this month initiated a discussion at the technical level on the basis of a draft declaration of the EU and its member states on reinforcing the International Law of the Sea framework, according to the EEAS document. That effort “would provide an additional tool to member states to boost the effectiveness of enforcement actions, including providing a basis to board shadow fleet ships,” the document says.

The draft declaration proposes “possible bilateral agreements between the flag states and the EU on pre-authorized boardings for inspections,” the EEAS wrote in the document.

The objective is to finalize the draft declaration by the end of November and to adopt it at the following meeting of EU foreign ministers.

Once the declaration is be supported by member states, the EU’s top diplomat Kaja Kallas will “seek the authorization of the Council to open negotiations for bilateral agreements with identified flag states,” according to the document.   

EU member states “increasingly demonstrate a renewed momentum for more robust enforcement actions tackling the shadow fleet,” according to the document, which makes the example of French soldiers that at the start of the month boarded an oil tanker, the Boracay, believed to be part of Russia’s shadow fleet, which was off the coast of Denmark when unidentified drones forced the temporary closure of several airports and also was anchored off western France for a few days.

The EU “could support member states in their efforts if they agree to grant the EU the right to negotiate agreements on their behalf for pre-authorized boardings for inspections,” the document says.  

The EU is already reaching out to priority flag states and coastal states that provide or enable logistical support and bunkering services to the shadow fleet and, among other actions, it also “aims to mobilize its various tools to provide support and incentives to flag states to deregister sanctioned vessels,” according to the EEAS document.

Panama, the largest ship registry, “has agreed to deregister vessels sanctioned by the EU and recently decided to stop registering vessels older than 15 years,” the EEAS says in the document.  

In terms of further sanctions, the EU “will continue to propose additional listings of vessels and shadow fleet ecosystem operators such as insurers and flag registries,” the document states, building on measures taken already in the current sanctions packages.

And “possible additional measures could include targeting the provision of logistical support to shadow fleet vessels, such as oil bunkering,” the document says.