The European Union can sanction a company for running shadow fleet tankers without barring the tankers themselves, the EU's foreign affairs spokesperson has said, after the Maritime Watch reported that four ships managed by a sanctioned Turkish operator had moved to an unlisted firm at the same Istanbul address and kept trading.
Christian Wigand, the EU's spokesperson for foreign affairs and security policy, said the asset freeze on companies that enable the shadow fleet and the ban on dealing with named vessels are separate measures, and that one can be taken without the other. The EU Council listed Trans KA Tankers Management Company on 15 June as the operator of the Haci Kemal Ka, the Lycia Ka and the Sumer, which it said manipulated their tracking signals while carrying Russian oil (the Council removed an earlier reference to inadequate insurance on 22 September). ⟨changed⟩ None of the three, nor a fourth Trans KA tanker, the Can Ka, was added to the EU's list of shadow fleet vessels.
Asked why the ships cited in the grounds for the listing were not listed themselves, Mr Wigand told the Maritime Watch on 24 September that listings of "shadow fleet enablers" can be "adopted independently of transaction bans imposed on vessels". He added: "We have strong evidence substantiating this designation."
Mr Wigand declined to say whether White Tankers Gemi Isletmeciligi, the unlisted company that took over the four ships, had been considered when Trans KA was listed, or whether a listing of White Tankers or the ships was now under consideration. He also declined to say whether Trans KA's published statement that it had suspended all Russia-linked business in October 2025 was weighed before the listing. To both questions he replied that "discussions of restrictive measures are confidential" and that sanctions are adopted by the Council by unanimity.
Equasis records show the management of all four ships passing from Trans KA to White Tankers between 17 and 24 June, within nine days of the listing. White Tankers' registered address has the same street number, unit and postcode in Tuzla as the address the EU published for Trans KA. A company listing does not follow a ship when it changes hands; a vessel listing does, and bars the ship from EU ports whoever owns or manages it.
The Lycia Ka was inspected at Siracusa on 18 August under White Tankers' management and passed with no deficiencies, Paris MoU records in the Maritime Watch's Mariel database show.
Trans KA and White Tankers had not responded to questions from the Maritime Watch by 24 September.
Trans KA's listing remains in force. None of the four ships is listed.
See also: Shadow fleet: the ships the EU didn't list