The top 10 sanctions stories of 2024

Santosh Patil gets in early with a shipping annual review, giving readers his discovery and disco versions of how sanctions stories have played out this year.

In the high-stakes world of global shipping, sanctions stories has the world split in two. Some see sanctions as a tight net around the shadow fleet, others see holes big enough to navigate a supertanker through.

Around this time of the year, maritime publications gear up for their Top 10 lists – from ranking flag states, ports, lawyers, insurers, personalities, and more. In that spirit, here’s a take on the top 10 sanctions headlines, where each term adds to the plot, whether as part of ‘Sanctions: The Discovery’ or the groovy ‘Sanctions: The Disco Version’. These top 10 terms are in no chronological order of importance but are rather chosen at random.

Sanctions: The discovery

This camp believes that sanctions are having a very real impact on shadow fleet activities and the maritime industry. Media articles read like an enforcement manual:

1. Dark fleet. The clandestine fleet of ships operating under the radar, dodging the gaze of sanction enforcers like in some secretive spy movie.
2. Sanctions bite. It’s serious business as major players pull coverage and restrict vessel movement, tightening the noose on dark fleet operators.
3. Compliance tightens. Even the most elusive shadow fleet operators are finding it harder to stay undercover as enforcement sharpens.
4. Phantom fleet. This is the fleet that refuses to acknowledge it even exists—like a ghost ship that just happens to be trading illicit goods.
5. Crackdown on dark fleet. No escaping Big Brother; regulators are tracking every detour and false flag.
6. Spoofing ships. Not just for hackers anymore—this is the maritime version of changing your GPS coordinates to avoid detection, like you’re playing hide-and-seek.
7. Insurance pullback. Underwriters have caught wind of risky business and are quick to cut ties with suspect vessels.
8. High-risk vessels. Ships that have a lot of secrets—like the mysterious guy at the party who always seems to be looking over his shoulder.
9. Choke off trade. A dramatic but accurate summation of how sanctions are squeezing certain routes.
10. Blacklisted vessels. Like the digital version of being banned from every cool club, these ships have earned their place on the no-go list.

This is the story of sanctions as the ‘discovery’, a tale of regulatory vigilance, compliance tightening, and every last loophole being sewn shut. Or so we’re told.

Sanctions: The disco version

Now for the flip side—the disco version, if you will, where no amount of regulatory beat-dropping seems to stop the party entirely. This version tells us that no matter how tight the rules get, the shadow fleet finds new moves to keep sailing.

1. Sanctions ineffectiveness. Critics argue the sanctions are more bark than bite, unable to halt the flow of trade on shadow routes.
2. Circumventing sanctions with new tactics. Why avoid a loophole when you can sail right through it?
3. Flag-hopping. It’s like a ship’s version of getting a new identity — changing flags like you’re flipping through outfits at a VIP party.
4. Unstoppable trade amid sanctions. It’s business as usual for some, even if sanctions try to close the doors.
5. Fragmented sanctions enforcement. While some countries enforce sanctions with gusto, others seem to say, “We’ll allow it.”
6. Partial success of sanctions. A reluctant acknowledgment that sanctions are somewhat effective, just not enough to stop the beat entirely.
7. Price cap evasion. Picture this: the rule-breaker who knows just how to slip under the radar and keep things moving at full throttle, even with price caps in place.
8. Sanctions busting. The rebellious cousin of sanctions evasion. Think of it as the naughty little sibling who knows how to get around the rules without getting caught.
9. Insurance loopholes. If ships can’t get insured through the usual channels, they’ll find a backdoor — because what’s a little paperwork compared to making sure the oil still flows?
10. Undetected trade. Like the shipping equivalent of ‘out of sight, out of mind’. Goods move, but no one’s quite sure how.

In this version, sanctions stories are the lights dimming for a moment on the dance floor before the shadow fleet finds a new rhythm, dodging each spotlight that tries to nail it down.

The verdict

Both versions of sanctions tell a tale of global effort and resistance. Whether you’re in the discovery camp, seeing sanctions as the regulatory watchtower, or vibing with the disco version, where the beat goes on regardless, one thing is clear: the shadow fleet knows how to keep the maritime world talking.

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