GALLILEO

The vessel is considered to be part of the so-called "shadow fleet," which is used to circumvent sanctions on crude oil trade with Iran, russia, and Venezuela.
The vessel was involved in transporting Iranian crude oil in Karystos Bay (Petalioi Gulf), and was detained by the Greek Coast Guard in April 2022.
In 2020-2025, the tanker is affiliated with the russian shipping company MG-Flot LLC (formerly Transmorfot LLC).
In May 2022, the US imposed sanctions on Transmorfloot LLC and the company's vessels involved in transporting weapons to russia.
MG-Flot LLC is affiliated with Astrakhan businessman Jamaldin Emir Magomedovich Pashayev, who built his business around the commercial port of Olya in the Astrakhan region. This location was proposed as the key logistics hub of the North-South international transport corridor, the development and construction of which was supervised and controlled by former russian Prime Minister Mikhail Fradkov. The key purpose of the transport corridor was trade with sanctioned Iran, which could import and export goods via the North-South route. This explains the provision of trade in Iranian oil by a fleet of tankers affiliated with a bank controlled by Mikhail Fradkov.
The vessel is also affiliated with the russian company PSB Leasing LLC (TIN 7722581759), a subsidiary of Promsvyazbank PJSC Promsvyazbank (TIN 7744000912), which is a systemically important state-owned banking institution of the russian federation that finances the russian defense industry, services significant volumes of state defense contracts of the russian Ministry of Defense, and provides banking services, including mortgage loans, to the russian military.
As part of the sanctions against PJSC Promsvyazbank, in February 2022, the US imposed sanctions on five vessels (including IMO 9256860), which at that time were owned by PSB Leasing LLC, a subsidiary of PJSC Promsvyazbank.
On January 15, 2026, the US authorities officially confirmed the seizure of a tanker in the Caribbean Sea as part of Operation Southern Spear. The operation was carried out by marines and sailors from the aircraft carrier USS Gerald R. Ford. The vessel is accused of violating the naval blockade and sanctions imposed by the US against Venezuela, as well as transporting Venezuelan oil. The ship last transmitted its coordinates on January 3, 2026, while anchored near Aruba. At the time of the seizure, the tanker was flying under the flag of Guyana (the previous flag of Iran), but the ship had been registered under the flag of the russian federation since January 1, 2026. Since December 25, 2025, the owner and manager of the tanker has been the russian company Burevestmarin LLC, established in July 2025. The director and sole owner of the company is Ilya Bugay, an entrepreneur from the temporarily occupied territory of Crimea, Ukraine. At the end of December 2025, the company became the owner and manager of two more tankers:
— MARINERA IMO 9230880 (under US sanctions), detained on January 7, 2026, by the US Coast Guard in the North Atlantic south of Iceland. The vessel was detained after a two-week pursuit in the Atlantic after it evaded inspection in the Caribbean Sea. As of January 15, 2026, the tanker is under US control and has been delivered to Moray Firth (Scotland, UK);
— SOKOLO IMO 9153525 (under US sanctions) — a VLCC class tanker involved in the transportation of Iranian and russian oil. The vessel last transmitted its coordinates on January 1, 2026, while in the Caribbean Sea at an anchorage off the coast of Aruba.