Shadow Fleet

The vessel is involved in the delivery of Iranian oil to China.
On October 11, 2024, as part of the expansion of restrictions on Iran's oil/petrochemical sector, USA imposed sanctions on the vessel as a property in which Davina Shipping Inc, which was also sanctioned by USA on October 11, 2024, has an interest.
According to GISIS IMO data as of July 15, 2025, the vessel's registered name is DAVINA, the flag is designated as "Curacao False". At the same time, the vessel sails under the name LENORE, "hiding" under the flag of Curacao.

The tanker was used by the sanctioned company China Concord Petroleum Co. Limited to deliver millions of barrels of Iranian oil from the sanctioned National Iranian Oil Company (NIOC) to China.
The National Iranian Oil Company (NIOC) is one of the largest oil and gas companies in the world and is controlled by the Iranian Ministry of Oil. NIOC and its subsidiaries explore, produce, transport, process and export oil and natural gas in Iran. The oil deals of NIOC, including its subsidiaries, are used to generate revenue for the IRGC-QF (Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps) and Hizballah (Hezbollah). After russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, namely in July 2022 during putin's visit to Tehran, the National Iranian Oil Company and the russian sanctioned PJSC Gazprom signed a memorandum of understanding on strategic cooperation in the oil and gas sector worth about $40 billion.
China Concord Petroleum Co., Limited is a key intermediary that helps Iran and Venezuela export crude oil to circumvent sanctions restrictions.
On October 11, 2024, as part of the expansion of restrictions on Iran's oil/petrochemical sector, USA imposed sanctions on the vessel as a property in which Delnaz Ship Management Sdn Bhd (the previous manager of the tanker) has an interest.
According to GISIS IMO, as of July 15, 2025, the vessel's registered name is HONG LU, and the flag is designated as "Curacao False". At the same time, the vessel sails under the name RHN, "hiding" under the flag of Curacao.

The tanker is affiliated with Delnaz Ship Management Sdn Bhd, which was sanctioned by USA on October 11, 2024 as part of the expansion of restrictions on Iran's oil/petrochemical sector.
On October 11, 2024, USA imposed sanctions on the tanker as a property in which Delnaz Ship Management Sdn Bhd has an interest.

The tanker is involved in the transportation of Iranian oil/oil products.
The vessel is involved in the transportation of sanctioned cargo on behalf of the Lebanon-based company Concepto Screen SAL Off-Shore, which is owned by Hizballah.
On June 10, 2024, the US imposed sanctions on the tanker.
The tanker is involved in the transportation of Venezuelan crude oil/petroleum products. In December 2025, the tanker IMO 9230880, flying the Panamanian flag, attempted to approach the coast of Venezuela despite the US blockade. The US Coast Guard tried to stop the tanker, but the crew (citizens of russia, Ukraine, and India) refused to comply with the Coast Guard's demands and abruptly changed course. The crew painted the flags of the russian federation on the ship's hull, and a few days later, the tanker was renamed from Bella 1 to Marinera and registered in the russian maritime register. From December 15, 2025, the ship spent two weeks trying to evade US Coast Guard control in the Atlantic Ocean. The russian Navy attempted to escort the tanker, including with the participation of a submarine, but on January 7, 2026, US Coast Guard forces in the North Atlantic (south of Iceland) boarded the tanker and took control of it in international waters.

The tanker, during the period of the oil embargo and price cap policy on russian crude oil/petroleum products, is involved in the export of russian crude oil/petroleum products. The vessel is also involved in the transportation of iranian crude oil/petroleum products.
On March 26, 2024, the US imposed sanctions on the tanker as part of restrictions on a network of companies and vessels used by Sa'id al-Jamal, an Iranian financial intermediary for the Houthis (Houthi) supported by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps-Quds Force (IRGC-QF).
Many tankers involved in transporting Iranian oil to countries such as China are involved in Venezuelan trade, including tanker IMO 9185530. On June 11, 2022, Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro and former Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi signed a 20-year cooperation agreement to expand ties in the oil and petrochemical industries, as well as in the military and economic spheres. Since then, bilateral ties have begun to develop. Most cargo is transported by ships belonging to the sanctioned National Iranian Tanker Company (NITC) in both directions. A significant number of ships flying foreign (non-Iranian) flags are also involved in this trade.

The tanker was involved in the transportation of Iranian crude oil/petroleum products, in particular to Syria and China. The vessel is linked to a network smuggling Iranian crude oil, which was financed by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and Hezbollah. The network was coordinated by Viktor Artemov (under US sanctions since November 2022).
On November 3, 2022, the US imposed sanctions on the tanker.
The vessel is also part of a large-scale shadow oil trading scheme between Venezuela and Cuba.
On December 10, 2025, the US Coast Guard boarded and arrested the tanker IMO 9304667 as it was sailing in international waters after departing from Venezuela. The tanker left the Venezuelan port on December 4, 2025, with 2 million barrels of oil from Venezuela's state oil company, known as PDVSA, on board. The ship's destination was listed as the Cuban port of Matanzas. Two days after departure, tanker IMO 9304667 transferred approximately 50,000 barrels to vessel IMO 9198666, which then headed towards Cuba, while tanker IMO 9304667 headed east towards Asia. It is likely that most of its cargo was intended for sale to the PRC. Most of the 30-member crew of the ship IMO 9304667 were russian citizens.
The seizure of the vessel IMO 9304667 was carried out by the Internal Security Service and the Federal Bureau of Investigation after the US Coast Guard boarded the tanker.
On December 12, 2025, the US Attorney's Office for the District of Columbia obtained a warrant for the arrest of the vessel IMO 9304667.

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.

During the period of the oil embargo and the G7+ countries’ price cap policy on russian crude oil and petroleum products, the tanker is involved in the export of russian petroleum products from russian ports on the Black and Baltic Seas to Turkey, Lebanon, Georgia, and Morocco, acting in the interests of, among others, PJSC "Gazprom".
Additionally, during the fuel crisis in the russian federation, the tanker is involved in the supply chain delivering gasoline to the aggressor country. Specifically, in August 2026, the tanker IMO 9587831 transferred nearly 27,000 metric tons of gasoline—shipped from the port of Mersin (Turkey)—to the tanker IMO 9374416 via a ship-to-ship transfer near Ceuta. In turn, the tanker IMO 9374416 delivered the gasoline cargo to the Vitino terminal (Port of Kandalaksha).

During the period of the oil embargo and the G7+ countries’ price cap policy on russian crude oil and petroleum products, the tanker is involved in the export of russian petroleum products from the ports of Ust-Luga, Vysotsk, and Novorossiysk to Turkey, Brazil, India, and Malta, specifically on behalf of PJSC Lukoil.
The tanker was also involved in supplying petroleum products to the russian federation during the fuel crisis. In late August 2026, the tanker delivered 31,000 metric tons of petroleum products (presumably gasoline) from Morocco (Tanger Med) to the port of St. Petersburg. The russian company Global Marine Agencies LLC (TIN 7801749027), incorporated on April 14, 2026, is involved in handling this shipment.

During the period of the oil embargo and the G7+ countries’ price cap policy on russian crude oil and petroleum products, the tanker has been involved in the export of russian petroleum products from ports in the Baltic Sea and the Pacific region, primarily to China, and also to Turkey.
The tanker was also involved in supplying petroleum products to russia during the fuel crisis. In early September 2026, the tanker IMO 9353137 delivered nearly 14,000 metric tons of a product needed to increase the octane rating of gasoline from the Chinese port of Huinzhou to the port of Vladivostok.

During the period of the oil embargo and the G7+ countries’ price cap policy on russian crude oil and petroleum products, the tanker was involved in the export of russian petroleum products.
The vessel was also involved in supplying petroleum products to the russian federation during the fuel crisis.
The tanker IMO 9163752, under the command of masters Vladimir Mikhailovich Mozhaev and Umed Khabibulayevich Ganiev (russian citizens), delivered three shipments of diesel fuel totaling over 35,000 metric tons from the port of Ulsan, South Korea, to the port of Nakhodka in July–August 2026.
In addition, in early August 2026, the vessel IMO 9163752 delivered several liters of JET A-1 aviation fuel from the port of Ulsan, South Korea, to the port of Nakhodka. This shipment of fuel was likely delivered to the aggressor country for the purpose of conducting laboratory research, testing samples, and exploring the possibility of certification under russian RT or TS-1 standards.
The supply chain from South Korea to the russian federation for diesel fuel and samples of JET A-1 aviation fuel transported by the tanker IMO 9163752 involves the private Hong Kong-based company Golden Centre Trading Limited (CR No.: 2486074, BRN No.: 67258688), and the russian companies OOO "Turey" (TIN 2540273648) and OOO "Morskoy Briz" (TIN 2508126864).

During the fuel crisis, the vessel was involved in supplying petroleum products to the russian federation.
In August 2026, the tanker, under the command of masters Roman Vladimirovich Bakanov and Yevgeny Anatolyevich Dymov (russian citizens), delivered nearly 22,000 metric tons of diesel fuel from the port of Ulsan, South Korea, to the port of Nakhodka. Subsequently, this cargo was transported by the tanker IMO 9163776 to Magadan and Vladivostok.