The Ukrainian Ministry of Defense's Directorate of Military Operations publishes information on the War&Sanctions portal about 20 oil tankers of the Russian Federation's "shadow fleet" and 11 vessels of the Iranian "ghost armada".
Points of attention
- Ukraine's Ministry of Defense reveals data on 20 tankers of the Russian 'shadow fleet' and 11 vessels of the Iranian 'ghost armada'.
- The Russian tankers engage in deceptive and high-risk shipping practices, lacking proper Western insurance, to export oil and petroleum products.
- The 'Shadow Fleet' section on the War&Sanctions portal now contains detailed information on 626 vessels from Russia and Iran, totaling almost 67 million metric tons.
DIU has discovered data on new tankers of the Russian shadow fleet
From now on, the “Shadow Fleet” section on the War&Sanctions portal contains data on 626 vessels of the shadow tanker fleet of the Russian Federation and Iran with a total deadweight of almost 67 million metric tons.
The 20 identified tankers of the Russian “shadow fleet”, lacking proper Western insurance, provide Russian maritime export flows of oil and petroleum products from ports in the Baltic and Black Seas, as well as from the Arctic and Pacific regions to India, the PRC and other countries, using deceptive and high-risk shipping practices.
To ensure revenues from fossil fuel exports, the aggressor continues to expand the network of the “shadow fleet”, attracting new outdated tankers, registered not only in the Russian Federation, but also with “ghost” owners and managers in jurisdictions friendly to the Russian Federation (Seychelles, China, Singapore, Azerbaijan, India), sailing under the “umbrella” of convenient flags of Panama, the Russian Federation, Sierra Leone, etc.
Some of the identified tankers are associated with Russian companies, including those subject to sanctions, in particular: JSC Volgotanker, LLC Volgotrans, LLC Rosewood Shipping, LLC Enea, LLC SBC Dolina, LLC Ridni Polya, as well as LLC Staksel.
LLC "Staksel" was transporting fuel oil on the tanker "Volgoneft-212", which sank in December last year in the Kerch Strait. The accident led to a fuel oil spill and an environmental disaster.
Some of the identified oil tankers are calling at ports in temporarily occupied Ukrainian Crimea.
The tankers of Iran's "ghost armada" provide significant oil revenues, thanks to which Iran continues to develop and distribute weapons, as well as conduct destabilizing activities, including through its regional proxies.
The Iranian government allocates billions of petrodollars to its armed forces every year, funding the development of UAVs, hundreds of which attack peaceful Ukrainian cities every night.
