Sponsors (2)
The resolution aims to disrupt sanction-evasion and choke off funding for terrorists and Russia's war through encouragement of vessel seizures, trading increased national-security leverage for heightened legal, economic, and diplomatic risks.
U.S. national security and taxpayers: Encourages federal agencies to seize vessels used to evade sanctions, which could directly reduce revenue flows to terrorist groups and degrade their operational capacity.
U.S. and allied security / civilian populations: By deterring use of the shadow fleet, the resolution could reduce Russia's ability to finance the war in Ukraine, potentially lowering the intensity of conflict and related casualties.
U.S. taxpayers and private shipping firms: Authorizing or encouraging vessel seizures raises the risk of expensive international legal disputes and retaliatory measures that could impose financial costs on taxpayers and commercial shippers.
U.S. government and diplomacy: A nonbinding push for executive seizure actions may escalate tensions with third countries and complicate diplomatic efforts to resolve the war in Ukraine, making peaceful solutions harder to achieve.
Based on analysis of 2 sections of legislative text.
Introduced December 17, 2025 by Lindsey O. Graham · Last progress December 17, 2025
Declares findings about Russia’s continued oil exports, the size and role of a ‘shadow fleet’ of tankers that transport sanctioned oil, and past U.S. enforcement actions; and states a nonbinding policy that the U.S. Government should seize shadow-fleet vessels carrying sanctioned Russian oil when those seizures would deny material support to designated foreign terrorist organizations, using all available authorities including Article II powers. The text cites specific data points on seaborne exports, estimates of the shadow fleet’s size and market share, recent Treasury sanctions on major Russian oil firms, and a December 2025 U.S. seizure of a tanker linked to illicit oil transfers.