Ukraine’s Intelligence Reveals Data on 238 Tankers of Russia’s “Shadow Fleet”

The Defence Intelligence of Ukraine has launched a new section on the ‘shadow fleet’ on the War & Sanctions portal, where it has published data on the activities of 238 vessels that help Russia and Iran export Russian oil under sanctions.

According to the DIU, in 2023, Russia earned $188 billion from oil exports, while Iran earned almost $53 billion. The Defence Intelligence of Ukraine noted that fossil fuel exports are a key source of funding for building up the military power of aggressors and feeding ‘bloody’ regimes. 

‘Revenues from oil sales provide authoritarian actors with resources to implement nuclear programmes, develop modern drones and missiles, provide constant financial and material support for the terrorist activities of their regional proxies, and pay for the services of transnational crime networks,’ the DIU stressed.

Russia's ‘shadow fleet’ comprises more than a thousand mostly outdated, poorly maintained vessels without proper insurance, with confusing ownership and management structures located in ‘friendly’ jurisdictions, under ‘convenient’ flags, and with a total deadweight of more than 100 million tonnes, which is approximately 17% of the world's oil tanker fleet.

Such vessels use deceptive tactics at sea to conceal the origin of their cargo, threaten ‘environmental chaos’ and billions of dollars in losses to coastal countries due to the growing risk of disasters when passing through busy narrow international transport routes, and refuse pilotage services. Since February 2022, more than 50 incidents involving shadow tankers have already been reported from the Danish Straits to Malaysia.