C VIKING

The tanker, during the period of the G7 and EU oil embargo and the price cap policy on russian crude oil/petroleum products, is involved in the export of russian crude oil/petroleum products from russian ports using deceptive, high-risk practices (disabling AIS, conducting dark activities, conducting STS transmissions with other tankers, including the russian shadow fleet, near European countries).
Since December 2023, the tanker has been owned by Marinequest Corp (IMO 6437580), registered in the Seychelles (Suite 10, 3rd Floor, La Ciotat, Mont Fleuri, Mahe Island Seychelles), which is widely used to register shipping companies with an opaque ownership structure, and in July 2024 the same company became the commercial manager of the vessel. In the period from January to July 2024, the tanker was affiliated with the Moldovan company Surt Ship Management SRL, which was the commercial and technical manager of the vessel during this period. This Moldovan company is one of ten Moldovan companies that played a significant role in the maritime transportation of russian crude oil and petroleum products in 2024. In July 2024, the technical management was transferred to Vvave Minder Shipmanagement (Azerbaijan), while the owner of the tanker did not change, which may indicate that the beneficiary of the vessel has not changed. Since March 2025, the technical management has been transferred to another company from Azerbaijan - Tidal Tech Mariners LLC, whose fleet as of May 26, 2025 consists of four tankers, including sanctioned ones (IMO 926165, IMO 9265873, IMO 9290921, IMO 9384095) involved in maritime trade in russian crude oil/petroleum products.
On May 09, 2025, the United Kingdom imposed sanctions on the tanker as part of the restrictions on the shadow fleet of the russian federation, including for engaging in activities aimed at destabilizing Ukraine, undermining/threatening the territorial integrity, sovereignty or independence of Ukraine or benefiting from or supporting the government of russia, and participating in the transportation of crude oil/petroleum products of russian origin, in particular, from russia to a third country.