The size of Russia’s so-called shadow fleet of oil tankers has grown from fewer than 100 vessels at the beginning of 2022 to between 300 and 600 by early 2025, depending on the counting method.

Source:Safety4sea.com, citing a study by Dryad Global, as reported by Ekonomichna Pravda

Details:The study indicates around 40% of these tankers were acquired from EU sellers and are ageing vessels nearing or exceeding their typical operational lifespan.

A typical Russian shadow tanker is 20 to 25 years old, far above the global average of 13 years for oil tankers.

"Age is the hidden hazard. Through constant flag-hopping, name changes and shell company swaps, many shadow-fleet tankers present fresh paperwork while hiding their build year and maintenance record," the report says.

Dryad Global analysts stress that unless a counterpart conducts a deep investigation – tracing the ship’s history through every previous IMO number – the vessel may appear seaworthy, even though it is over 20 years old and potentially lacks a valid classification.

Between January and May 2025, the US, EU and UK imposed coordinated sanctions on Russia’s shadow fleet, blacklisting about 270 tankers connected to Russian oil exports. The crackdown began on 10 January, when the US Treasury sanctioned 183 tankers and targeted Gazprom Neft and Surgutneftegas, removing 17 million DWT from the mainstream trade.

EU sanction packages in February and May 2025 added 74 and 189 tankers, respectively, and introduced liability for facilitating dangerous or uninsured vessels. The EU’s blacklist now includes 153 ships. The UK followed in March, sanctioning another 29 tankers.

In total, Western sanctions now cover approximately 270 vessels with a combined capacity of nearly 25 million tonnes, three times the number in January.

Shipowners often manipulate AIS (Automatic Identification System) data. Crews may reclassify tankers into less regulated categories or turn off transponders near sensitive areas, switching them back on only after leaving high-risk zones. Some ships transmit false coordinates.

Frequent name and flag changes are also common. A tanker may switch from the Russian registry to the Liberian flag within days, often altering identifiers while in port. These updates are quickly reflected in digital certificates, which port authorities typically accept.

Dryad Global notes that within a year, a single vessel can be passed among companies registered in offshore jurisdictions such as the Seychelles or Marshall Islands, with real ownership hidden behind nominee directors.

"Cargo concealment is the final step. Offshore transfers near Lomé, Ceuta, or Kandla often blend Russian, Iranian, and Venezuelan crude into mixed cargoes labelled as generic fuel oil. This makes origin tracing difficult and hampers the enforcement of sanctions and price caps," the report says.

As these tactics are often combined, regulatory bodies increasingly treat any vessel with rapidly changing identifiers as high risk. Enforcement has shifted from individual checks to broader blacklists based on behavioural patterns, Dryad Global notes.

Background:

• Germany has recently introduced additional measures to counter Russia’s shadow fleet in the Baltic Sea. As of 1 July, German authorities require passing tankers to submit proof of oil pollution insurance.
• Australia has also imposed targeted sanctions on 60 tankers linked to Russia’s shadow fleet – the country’s first such action against Russian maritime assets.
• Panama has deregistered 128 Russian-linked vessels after they were sanctioned by the US, its allies and the UN.
• Vladyslav Vlasiuk, Ukraine’s sanctions policy envoy, earlier stated that the shadow fleet reflects the broader opacity of the international oil shipping industry. Some of the violations, which in fact constitute circumvention of sanctions, are not necessarily violations in legal terms.
• It was also reported that Japan’s Taiyo Oil Co. received Russian oil via the Voyager – a tanker blacklisted by both the US Treasury and the EU. The vessel delivered 600,000 barrels from the Prigorodnoye terminal on Sakhalin Island. 
• Bloomberg noted that Japan allowed this for energy security reasons – despite being a G7 member.
• In addition, tankers involved in Iran-to-China oil delivery schemes have been disappearing from digital tracking near Malaysia’s east coast – a key trans-shipment hub for Iranian oil.
• In recent months, an increasing number of vessels have been turning off their transponders near the eastern coast of Malaysia – a region that has become a key hub for ship-to-ship transfers of Iranian oil destined for China.
• It has also been reported that tankers under US sanctions have begun appearing in the complex maritime supply chain transporting Russian oil to India, which is currently recording record-high imports of this oil.

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