Law of the Sea comes to life in the hunt for sanctioned Russian oil

Until US President Donald Trump reversed the thrust of his sanctions policy of Russian oil on Friday, Ukraine’s Western allies had been ramping up the use of international law.Countries sanctioning Russian oil have for the first time enforced boarding and inspection rights under the Law of the Sea this year, experts told Al Jazeera.Recommended Stories list of 4 itemslist 1 of 4Russia and Ukraine trade strikes amid doubt over ‘energy ceasefire’list 2 of 4‘Block, blunt, break’: What’s in NATO’s new Russia war plan?list 3 of 4‘Massive’ Russian attack on Ukraine kills at least 9, damages power siteslist 4 of 4Trump’s diesel deal opens a new rift with Europe over Ukraineend of list“The whole idea now is to disrupt, deter and make it more expensive and costly for Russia to logistically get their oil to market on these ships, and that’s definitely happening,” said Michelle Bockmann, an analyst at maritime intelligence company Windward.Some Russian officials believe worse is to come.“Western countries are trying to organise the interception of our vessels. London and Brussels are drawing up plans to blockade the Baltic Sea and the straits leading into it. Other key shipping routes are also...