Billions For Scrap? Europeans Supply Russia's Shadow Fleet

An investigation led by Dutch outlet Follow The Money released Tuesday found that shipowners from Western countries sanctioning Russia have earned billions from selling derelict tankers to the country's so-called shadow fleet. 230 tankers identified as dodging sanctions by transporting Russian oil were tracked back to former owners from Greece, Cyprus, the United Kingdom, German, Belgium and other Western countries, who sold them after the invasion of Ukraine for sums way beyond the value of the aging ships. The vessels that make up more than a third of Russia's entire shadow fleet then transitioned into opaque ownership and went on to carry out clandestine oil transports. In addition to being in poor and unsafe condition, the ships also lack crucial insurances, according to the report.

The shadow fleet enables Russia to sell oil above the price cap which applies when the country uses tankers connected to Western ownership or insurance. It has thereby been circumventing sanctions and funding its war effort in Ukraine. Selling ships to Russia directly is also sanctioned for owners from many Western countries, but the buyers are companies in India, Vietnam or Hong Kong, among others. The vessels stay away from European ports, the report said, despite picking up oil as far west as the Baltic Sea. In connection with repeated incidents of undersea cable cutting by commercial ship anchors in the body of water, one suspected shadow fleet ship, the Eagle S, was detained at the beginning of the year. Links to Russia were found for several vessels identified as likely culprits in cable cutting since October 2023, even though one of them was recently cleared. While intelligence sources have leaked that they found no malicious intent at least for three of the incidents, Baltic states are pursuing cable cutting ships and call a string of unfortunate accidents "highly unlikely".