Late December 2025 saw maritime trade compliance facing increased scrutiny, as China announced sweeping sanctions on US defense firms and Finnish authorities detained a vessel over allegations of breaking sanctions laws. This development indicated heightened geopolitical tensions threatening global shipping networks.
China Blacklists 20 US Defense Companies and Executives
On December 26, 2025, Chinas Ministry of Foreign Affairs unveiled sanctions against 20 US defense companies and 10 senior executives, alleging violations to Chinas one-China principle by selling arms to Taiwan. Effective immediately, measures include asset freezes within China; prohibitions on transactions with Chinese entities; and entry bans for these executives.
Northrop Grumman, Boeing Defense Space & Security and Anduril Industries were sanctioned firms, while Palmer Luckey (founder of Anduril) was included among those named individuals. Beijings Unreliable Entity List regime restricts foreign firms deemed harmful to Chinese national security while prohibiting Chinese entities from doing business with those designated.
These sanctions follow on previous retaliatory measures taken against US contractors such as Lockheed Martin and General Dynamics involved in Taiwan arms deals. While they do not directly target maritime operations, they raise risks for shipping firms handling defense-related cargo or engaging with affected supply chains amid US-China trade frictions.
Finnish Customs Detains Vessel Fitburg in Sanctions Probe
Finland Customs detained the vessel Fitburg as part of an investigation into imports alleged to have violated EU sanctions between 2022-2024; these imports led to charges being laid against suspects who have since been released pending trial.
This investigation received support from the European Anti-Fraud Office (OLAF), as well as materials provided via an Mutual Legal Assistance Request sent from Kazakhstan to Ukraine. This case shows growing EU enforcement efforts against sanctions evasion in bulk cargo trades with restricted origins, particularly steel products with restricted sources of supply.
Authorities' structural steel findings on board Fitburg demonstrate weaknesses in commodity shipping verification processes and could set precedents for maritime liability in terms of sanctions compliance across European ports. Suspects have already been charged.
Trends of Sanctions Enforcement in Progress
Late December events capped an aggressive year of sanctions from both the US and EU targeting Russian and Iranian shadow fleets. Over 700 vessels were designated, shifting global oil and LNG flows but without stopping them altogether.
China continued receiving sanctioned Russian LNG shipments up until December 31, 2025 at Beihai terminal, with multiple deliveries by vessels such as Arctic Mulan (IMO 9864837) from Arctic LNG 2 as well as Voskhod and Zarya vessels making numerous deliveries; such shadow trade corridors persisted despite designations.
Analytics firms have observed predictive risk scoring of vessels like AQUARIS (IMO 9251822) prior to OFAC sanctions on February 6, 2025 based on AIS spoofing and STS patterns. Even into 2026, around 3,300 shadow vessels remain carrying 6-7% of global crude supply requiring proactive compliance for maritime risk management.