Tanker shipments could be seized by the UK if importers cannot prove the oil is not from Russia, the government said in updated guidance for the industry.
The guidance warned that importers who have a reasonable suspicion that oils brought into the UK have been mixed with Russian barrels could be committing a criminal offence.
The guidance follows concerns that Russian oil is being mixed with non-Russian at storage terminals or during ship-to-ship transfers to disguise the source of the barrels.
