S. 2904 — SHADOW Fleet Sanctions Act of 2026

This section directs the President, not later than 90 days after enactment, to impose sanctions described in section 181 on any Russian shadow fleet vessel that transports crude oil, arms, or other goods on or after enactment for the purpose of circumventing U.S. or other countries' sanctions, including (1) any foreign vessel whose owner or operator knowingly engages in unsafe or nonstandard maritime behavior, lacks adequate insurance, or evades the crude oil price cap in transporting Russian-origin petroleum products, uranium, or coal; and (2) any foreign person who knowingly owns, operates, or manages such a vessel; provides insurance or underwriting; facilitates deceptive transactions; provides services for technology upgrades, retrofitting, or certification to evade sanctions; serves as captain or senior crew; or transfers relevant vessels to Russia. (The Russian shadow fleet consists of often aging, uninsured vessels used to evade Western sanctions on Russian energy exports through tactics such as ship-to-ship transfers and disabling transponders.) It further authorizes the President to treat sanctions by the United Kingdom, European Union, Group of Seven, or Five Eyes members as prima facie evidence; lists 12 specific indicators of unsafe or nonstandard behavior (e.g., refusing a pilot, turning off the Automatic Identification System without explanation, or being escorted by Russian military); and requires reports to congressional committees not later than 120 days after enactment and every 90 days thereafter detailing any sanctions imposed, including descriptions of targeted vessels and persons and justifications.

This section requires the President, not later than 180 days after enactment, to impose the sanctions described in section 181 on foreign persons determined to have engaged, on or after enactment, in specified transactions with a Russian shadow fleet vessel subject to U.S. sanctions. Transactions include (1) ship-to-ship transfers involving Russian-origin petroleum products, uranium, or coal products with such a vessel; (2) provision of significant goods or services, including crew or maintenance services, to such a vessel; (3) for owners or operators of foreign ports, allowing such a vessel to port or receive services; and (4) for owners or operators of foreign refineries, knowingly processing, refining, or dealing in Russian-origin petroleum products transported on such a vessel.

This section authorizes the President, beginning 15 days after enactment, to impose sanctions described in section 181 on any foreign person owning or operating a port in China or India that accepts oil from (1) foreign vessels transporting Russian-origin crude oil for sale above the maximum price set by the Price Cap Coalition (i.e., G7-led allies enforcing a price cap on Russian oil exports) or any related U.S. price cap, or (2) foreign vessels already subject to U.S. sanctions. (Thus, the provision targets ports facilitating Russia's shadow fleet, which evades Western sanctions on oil sales.)

This section directs the Secretary of State, through the head of the Office of Sanctions Coordination and in coordination with the Secretary of the Treasury and the Director of the Office of Foreign Assets Control, to (1) submit to the appropriate congressional committees, not later than 180 days after enactment and every 180 days thereafter, a report listing each foreign vessel sanctioned by the European Union or United Kingdom for operating as part of the Russian shadow fleet (i.e., vessels used by Russia to evade Western oil sanctions), including for any such vessel not sanctioned by the United States the relevant foreign justification for its designation; and (2) submit, not later than 180 days after enactment, a strategy to enhance alignment of U.S. sanctions designations for vessels supporting the Russian shadow fleet with those of the European Union and United Kingdom.

This section (1) expresses the sense of Congress that the United States supports the efforts of the Joint Expeditionary Force—a multinational partnership led by Denmark and the United Kingdom—to track, monitor, deter, and, if necessary, respond to operations and illicit activities of the Russian shadow fleet (i.e., vessels used to evade sanctions on Russian oil exports); and (2) declares it to be the policy of the United States to use relevant maritime elements of the U.S. government to support and amplify the authorized efforts of the Joint Expeditionary Force.

This section directs the Secretary of State, in coordination with relevant federal agencies, to establish and maintain a public database of foreign vessels suspected of sabotage activities or other illicit activities in support of the Russian shadow fleet (i.e., vessels used to evade sanctions on Russian energy exports), using credible open-source information on activities described in section 111(a). It further requires coordination, whenever possible, with Australia, New Zealand, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom, and the European Union—if imposing sanctions on the shadow fleet—for sharing such information on those vessels.

This section requires the Secretary of State, in coordination with the Secretary of the Treasury, to submit to the appropriate congressional committees a classified report—not later than 90 days after enactment and every 90 days thereafter—listing any specific license granted or in effect under Executive Order 14024 (relating to blocking property of persons engaged in specified harmful foreign activities of the Government of the Russian Federation). (Thus, the reports provide congressional oversight of sanctions exceptions issued by the Office of Foreign Assets Control.)

This section establishes U.S. policy defining minimum standards for a government to comply with in maintaining an open flag registry (i.e., a ship registry open to foreign-owned vessels), as determined on balance by whether the government—(1) enacts and implements laws, structures, policies, and practices prohibiting and deterring use of its registry to circumvent sanctions by the United States, United Kingdom, European Union, or other Group of 7 countries, including by prohibiting its flag on sanctioned vessels; (2) enacts and implements such measures to deter use of its registry to avoid detection of illicit activities, including drug trafficking, illicit arms shipments, human trafficking, and illegal, unreported, and unregulated fishing; (3) enforces those laws through fair judicial processes punishing violators; (4) ensures flagged ships comply with industry standards and best practices, including International Maritime Organization resolutions such as A.1192(33) (December 6, 2023) on preventing "dark fleet" or "shadow fleet" illegal operations; (5) responds to credible reports of safety-risk behaviors by its flagged vessels (e.g., denying pilot access or disabling Automatic Identification Systems without justification); (6) ensures flagged vessels adhere to lawful prohibitions and regulations on ship-to-ship transfers of sanctioned oil or petroleum products; (7) ensures flagged vessels have adequate and credible insurance for maritime accidents; (8) ensures transparent ownership structures, including verifying beneficial ownership and management; and (9) ensures vessels do not avoid flag state or port state control inspections or commercial screenings.

This section directs the Secretary of State, in consultation with appropriate federal agencies, not later than one year after enactment and annually thereafter through 2030, to (1) assess countries that do not meet minimum standards for operating as a flag state registry (i.e., the country of vessel registry responsible for safety, crewing, and compliance) in accordance with U.S. policy, including standards described in section 131; and (2) submit to the appropriate congressional committees a strategy for identifying and engaging with those countries.

This section directs the Secretary of State, in coordination with the Secretary of the Treasury, to (1) monitor international compliance with the price cap on crude oil exports from the Russian Federation within U.S. jurisdiction; (2) engage, advise, and assist foreign governments in joining and implementing enforcement of the price cap; (3) engage governments of countries that import or facilitate transport of Russian crude oil or refined petroleum products from such oil to identify evaders and deploy enforcement resources; and (4) consider countries playing a significant role in exporting such oil or products or evading related sanctions when selecting locations for Treasury Financial Attachés under the Treasury Financial Attaché Program (i.e., deploys Treasury personnel abroad to advance U.S. financial and economic policy and combat illicit finance, money laundering, and terrorism financing).

This section requires the Secretary of State, in coordination with the Secretaries of the Treasury, Commerce, and Energy, to submit to the appropriate congressional committees, not later than 180 days after enactment of this Act and every two years thereafter, a report assessing implementation of and compliance with the crude oil price cap on Russian oil. The report must include (1) a determination of whether Russian crude oil or refined petroleum products made from such oil are entering the United States and, if so, the volume; (2) executive branch efforts to monitor and prevent such imports; (3) Department of State efforts to promote compliance with the price cap, sanctions, and maritime safety standards; (4) an assessment of Russian income derived from price cap violations since January 2022; (5) projected Russian income from such activities for calendar years 2025 through the year after report submission; and (6) an assessment of Russia's financial benefits from compliant sales. The reporting requirement terminates on January 1, 2030, or 90 days after termination of the prohibition on importing Russian energy products under the Ending Importation of Russian Oil Act (Public Law 117-109).

This section establishes the policy of the United States (1) to fully promote recommendations made by International Maritime Organization Resolution A.1192(33), adopted on December 6, 2023; (2) to use its voice and vote in international organizations and engage entities such as the North Atlantic Treaty Organization and the European Union to encourage all countries to adopt those recommendations—including enhanced inspections and notifications to flag administrations for vessels intentionally evading detection (e.g., by switching off Automatic Identification System or long-range identification and tracking transmissions or concealing identity, absent legitimate reasons); and (3) to encourage all countries to deny port access and services to vessels found, after investigation, to have disabled transponders or entered false information to conduct transfers or transactions of Russian-origin crude oil or refined petroleum products in violation of the price cap.