THE business of shipping has been getting more complicated than usual over recent weeks.

The Western response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine may be broadly aligned in terms of political objective, but the detail differs significantly, regimes often overlap and inconsistencies are acknowledged across the board.

As European nails down its latest round of sanctions seeking to ban imports of Russian crude during the next six months and refined products by the end of the year, shipping is struggling to keep up with the pace of new rules, sanctions, bans and self-sanctioning requirements from its customers who are also struggling to stay ahead of the evolving new world order.

While many European and American traders, oil companies and maritime service providers have terminated business with Russian shipping entities completely since the Ukraine invasion, others are looking at the confusion as an opportunity and are testing the boundaries of the increasingly complex matrix of sanctions regimes.

Most shipping companies, however, are trying their best to avoid Russian risk altogether, but that is easier said than done because the sanctions regimes are still evolving.

As we record this week’s edition European was yet to decide whether its forthcoming ban would affect only Russia-controlled ships or European ones along with services and insurance.

Unsurprisingly Greece and Cyprus were both contesting details there precisely because they have calculated the impact that will have on their sectors.

The reality is that these sanctions are by no means an end game and the detail is going to continue to complicate international trade for months, if not years to come.

Meanwhile, large sections of the shipping industry are working without in-house compliance teams which has left them struggling to keep pace.

Join us on Thursday, May 26 for the latest webinar in the Lloyd's List Future of Shipping series - Navigating Shipping through Volatile Geopolitics. For further details and to register, follow this link.