Washington has put shipowners, insurers and port operators inside the blocking perimeter
The Lindsey O. Graham Sanctioning Russia and Iran Act of 2026, signed into law on 18 September, requires the president to review potentially covered vessels and people within 30 days and every 180 days thereafter, and allows ships that meet the statutory criteria to be identified as blocked property. It reaches foreign vessels used by the Russian government or Russian persons to move crude, uranium, gas, LNG, products, petrochemicals, coal or arms in circumvention of sanctions, and vessels whose owners, operators or managers knowingly engage in unsafe or non-standard practices with Russian-origin energy cargoes, carry inadequate insurance or evade the oil price cap. Underwriters, reinsurers, masters and senior crew are named, as are port operators whose facilities let a sanctioned vessel call or take services. Duties on goods imported directly from Russia are to be raised to as much as 500% within 30 days, with tariffs of up to 100% available against countries meeting criteria tied to Russian crude and gas purchases. The Senate passed the bill 86-11 on 7 August and the House approved the Senate amendments 262-159 on 16 September; the Iran Sanctions Act of 1996 is extended to 2031.
