Moldovan-Registered Companies Help Russia's "Shadow Fleet" Transport Oil to Circumvent EU and US Sanctions

A group of companies registered in Moldova has started managing a fleet of tankers that transport significant volumes of Russian oil. This is stated in an investigation by the RISE Moldova reporters' association.

The data provided in the investigation show that over the past 6-7 months, up to 2% of Russian oil has been transported by tankers managed by Moldovan companies that do not even have employees in Moldova.

Journalists have identified several such Moldovan companies that have played an important role in the maritime transport of Russian oil. They are controlled by third parties, and some of them were surprised to learn that their companies operate oil tankers.

Most of these tankers are part of Russia's so-called ‘shadow fleet’. In this way, the Kremlin is trying to avoid international sanctions imposed as a result of the attack on Ukraine.

In total, the number of ‘Moldovan’ oil tankers detected by RISE Moldova exceeds 23 units, which means almost 6% of Russia's ‘shadow fleet’.

The authors of the investigation argue that if we believe the statements of the Chisinau-based company, which claims to operate a fleet of 50 tankers, it may actually be about 70 tankers.