Marine vessels

The tanker is involved in the export of russian oil to third countries from russian ports in the Baltic Sea. The vessel is certified by the Registro Italiano Navale (IACS). Since December 2023, the tanker has been affiliated with the Moldovan company KSN Shipmanagement, which was registered less than a month after russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine. RLRISE Moldova, a community of investigative journalists, programmers and activists from the Republic of Moldova and Romania, and Greenpeace International refer to the tanker as a shadow fleet involved in the export of russian oil. Oil exports from russia are the most important source of income for the kremlin regime to finance its war against Ukraine. The tax on oil production collected by the russian federation in 2023 amounted to 8.9 trillion rubles, or 31% of total federal revenues. According to CREA data for September 2024, russia's revenues from crude oil exported by sea amounted to 192 million euros per day, 86% of the total volume of russian marine crude oil was transported by 'shadow' tankers, while tankers owned or insured in countries that impose price restrictions accounted for 14% of the total value of russian oil exported in September. Thus, the 'shadow fleet' of the russian federation continues to provide multibillion-dollar revenues for the kremlin bypassing sanctions, disguising its activities under the flags of third countries, using complex schemes to conceal owners, and poses significant threats to environmental safety with significant economic costs for coastal countries and/or the international community due to the outdated and inadequate insurance of shadow fleet tankers.

In 2024, the tanker is involved in the export of russian oil to third countries from russian ports in the Baltic Sea and the Pacific region. The vessel is certified by the Korean Register (IACS). In December 2022, the United Against Nuclear Iran (UANI) included the tanker in a public list of vessels suspected of involvement in the illegal transportation of Iranian oil. russia has created its own shadow fleet of tankers, mostly made up of old tankers, many of which have experience in operating under sanctions imposed on regimes such as Iran. Since the beginning of russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, more than 90 vessels that previously helped Tehran export Iranian oil are now helping russia transport russian oil/oil products. In May 2022, UANI predicted that russia would use a 'ghost armada' to ensure that excess profits from oil exports flow to its Chinese partner, in particular. Oil exports from russia are the most important source of income for the kremlin regime to finance its war against Ukraine. The tax on oil production collected by the russian federation in 2023 amounted to 8.9 trillion rubles, or 31% of total federal revenues. According to CREA data for September 2024, russia's revenues from crude oil exported by sea amounted to 192 million euros per day, 86% of the total volume of russian marine crude oil was transported by shadow tankers, while tankers owned or insured in countries that impose price restrictions accounted for 14% of the total value of russian oil exported in September. The shadow tanker fleet continues to provide multibillion-dollar revenues for the kremlin bypassing sanctions, disguising its activities under the flags of third countries, using complex schemes to conceal owners, and poses significant environmental threats with significant economic costs to coastal countries and/or the international community due to the outdated and inadequate insurance of shadow fleet tankers.

Since 2024, during the period of the G7 and EU oil embargo and the price-cap policy on russian oil, the tanker has been involved in the export of oil to third countries from russian ports in the Baltic Sea. The previous owner of the vessel until April 2024 was the Greek company Thenamaris Ships Management. The tanker was sold to an unknown buyer, and, according to the international public organization Greenpeace, is part of the shadow fleet of the russian federation. Oil exports from russia are the most important source of income for the kremlin regime to finance the war against Ukraine. The tax on oil production collected by the russian federation in 2023 amounted to 8.9 trillion rubles, or 31% of total federal revenues. According to CREA data for September 2024, russia's revenues from crude oil exported by sea amounted to 192 million euros per day, 86% of the total volume of russian marine crude oil was transported by shadow tankers, while tankers owned or insured in countries that impose price restrictions accounted for 14% of the total value of russian oil exported in September. The shadow tanker fleet continues to generate multibillion-dollar revenues for the kremlin by circumventing sanctions by disguising its activities under third-country flags, using complex schemes to conceal owners, and poses significant environmental safety hazards with significant economic costs to coastal countries and/or the international community due to the outdated and inadequately insured shadow fleet tankers.

During the period of the G7 and EU oil embargo and the price-cap policy on russian oil, the tanker is involved in the export of oil to third countries from russian ports in the Baltic Sea, transshipment of russian oil from ship to ship in the area of anchorages in Greece and Malta. The transshipment of oil from ship to ship off the coast of Greece and Malta is reminiscent of the activities of the so-called 'STS hubs' that emerged several years ago in the UAE, Oman and Malaysia in response to USA sanctions against Venezuelan and Iranian oil. This methodology is aimed at concealing the origin, ownership and final destination of questionable cargo. The tanker 'RANGLER' resorts to the practice of turning off the AIS signal, conducting so-called 'dark activities', in particular in the Baltic Sea. The vessel is certified by the Russian Maritime Register of Shipping. The owner and commercial manager of the vessel is Ethereal Harbor Corp, a company registered in the Seychelles. The ISM manager of the tanker is Harmony Voyage Shipmanagement, a Kazakh company. The fleet of these companies consists only of the tanker 'RANGLER'. Against the backdrop of sanctions, russia is using a scheme of 'juggling' ships between related companies to conceal oil exports outside the price cap and other restrictions, as well as to hide the real owners of ships, and to ensure unimpeded transportation of fossil fuels by a 'shadow' fleet of outdated oil tankers, creates new companies for these purposes (in the UAE, Hong Kong, India, Turkey, Mauritius, Seychelles, and other jurisdictions) with non-transparent organizational and ownership structures. In order to implement this scheme, technical/commercial management and ship owners are constantly changing, and vessels are renamed with a change of flag, MMSI, call-sign, including for sanctioned vessels. Shadow fleet vessels operate under 'convenient flags', which allows them to conceal their true origin and avoid control by international organizations and insurance companies. The 'shadow' fleet, transporting huge volumes of crude oil through heavily trafficked routes through narrow straits close to the coastline, without proper P&I insurance, with automatic identification systems disabled, threatens an environmental disaster with significant economic costs to be borne by the affected coastal countries and/or the international community. The recent incidents off Malaysia only underscore the need for swift action to curb the potentially devastating impact of the growing 'shadow fleet'. 'Shadow' tankers have already been involved in 50 incidents from the Danish Straits all the way to Malaysia since russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine. According to CREA, from January to August 2024, the number of shadow tankers crossing the Danish Straits in Europe increased by 277% compared to the same period in 2022, with 64% of the 46 million tons of russian marine oil transported through the Danish Straits being transported by shadow tankers. In the same period, the number of shadow tankers in the Straits of Dover and Gibraltar increased by 355% compared to 2022, transporting 67% of the 37 million tons of oil through the straits. The Suez Canal experienced a staggering 649% increase in shadow tanker traffic, with 69% of the 52 million tons of russian crude oil passing through it being transported by these vessels. Oil exports from russia are the most important source of income for the kremlin regime to finance the war against Ukraine. The tax on oil production collected by the russian federation in 2023 amounted to 8.9 trillion rubles, or 31% of total federal revenues. According to CREA data for September 2024, russia's revenues from crude oil exported by sea amounted to 192 million euros per day, 86% of the total volume of russian marine crude oil was transported by 'shadow' tankers, while tankers owned or insured in countries that impose price restrictions accounted for 14% of the total value of russian oil exported in September. Thus, russia's 'shadow fleet' continues to generate billions of dollars in revenue for the Kremlin bypassing sanctions, disguising its activities under the flags of third countries, using complex schemes to conceal owners, and poses significant environmental threats with significant economic costs to coastal countries and/or the international community due to the outdated and inadequate insurance of shadow fleet tankers.

The tanker is involved in the export of russian crude oil/oil products to third countries from russian ports in the Baltic and Black Seas, conducting dark activities at sea with the AIS signal turned off, and violating the G7 and EU oil embargo on russian crude oil. In particular, in July 2023, the vessel exported russian oil/oil products from the russian port of Kavkaz in the Black Sea to the EU countries (to the Laconikos Gulf, Greece) through a transshipment in violation of the embargo. The vessel is certified by the Indian Register of Shipping (IACS). RLRISE Moldova, a community of investigative journalists, programmers and activists from the Republic of Moldova and Romania, and the international NGO Greenpeace refer to the tanker as a shadow fleet of tankers transporting russian oil around the world and threatening the environment. Oil exports from russia are the most important source of income for the regime of the aggressor country to finance the war against Ukraine. From February 2022 to November 22, 2024, russia earned almost 546 billion euros in revenues from oil exports (69% of all revenues from fossil fuel exports). In 2023, about a third of all tax revenues in russia came from the sale of oil and gas. The tax on oil production collected by the russian federation in 2023 amounted to 8.9 trillion rubles, or 31% of total federal revenues. According to the CREA data for October 2024, russia's revenues from crude oil exported by sea amounted to 210 million euros per day, 83% of the total volume of russian marine crude oil was transported by “shadow” tankers, while tankers owned or insured in countries that impose price restrictions accounted for 17% of the total value of russian oil exported in October. Under the sanctions, russia has begun to build up its own shadow fleet of outdated tankers, which has no 'ties' with the G7 and the EU and can transport oil in violation of price caps. russia disguises its shadow activities at sea under the 'convenient' flags of third countries, operates at sea without proper insurance from the international club of insurers, uses complex schemes to conceal the owners of the shadow fleet, uses various deceptive tactics to conceal the origin of its cargo, creates threats to environmental safety with large-scale economic costs for coastal countries due to the growing threat of oil spills, does not use pilots to navigate difficult areas, etc. russia's 'shadow fleet' continues to provide multibillion-dollar revenues for the kremlin bypassing sanctions, disguising its activities under the flags of third countries, using complex schemes to conceal owners, and poses significant environmental threats with significant economic costs to coastal countries and/or the international community due to the outdated and inadequate insurance of shadow fleet tankers.

During the period of the G7 and EU oil embargo and the price-cap policy on russian oil, the tanker was involved in the export of russian oil from russian ports in the Baltic, Black seas, and the Pacific region, mainly to India and China. The tanker was also used to transport Iranian oil under sanctions. russia has created its own shadow fleet of tankers, mostly made up of old tankers, many of which have experience of working under sanctions imposed on regimes such as Iran. Since the beginning of russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, more than 90 vessels that previously helped Tehran export Iranian oil are now helping russia transport russian oil/oil products. In May 2022, UANI predicted that russia would use a 'ghost armada' to ensure that excess profits from oil exports flow to its Chinese partner, in particular. The vessel is certified by the Registro Italiano Navale (IACS). The international NGO Greenpeace refers to the tanker as part of a shadow fleet of tankers transporting russian oil around the world and threatening the environment. The vessel is affiliated with Sun Ship Management, a sanctioned company associated with the sanctioned Sovcomflot, the largest state-owned shipping company in russia, a key company for servicing and supporting offshore hydrocarbon production, transportation of russian oil, oil products, and liquefied natural gas amid sanctions restrictions on russia after its full-scale invasion of Ukraine. The services provided by Sovcomflot are a significant source of income for russia, as more than 70% of russia's revenues come from energy sales, which allows it to finance its war against Ukraine. The main charterers of Sovcomflot vessels are the largest oil and gas companies and traders in russia. Sovcomflot is involved in servicing major oil and gas projects in russia: 'Sakhalin-1', 'Sakhalin-2', 'Varandey', 'Prirazlomnoye', 'Novy Port', 'Yamal LNG' and others. Prior to russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, the company's fleet consisted of about 145 vessels. After the sanctions were imposed, Sovcomflot transferred dozens of vessels to the ownership of companies it had set up, including in foreign jurisdictions, in order to circumvent them, and began the practice of constantly 'juggling' (transferring) vessels to related companies. According to expert estimates, the tankers 'transferred' by Sovcomflot to related companies are part of the so-called 'shadow tanker fleet' of the russian federation to continue selling russian oil, oil products, and liquefied gas under western sanctions. Oil exports from russia are the most important source of income for the regime of the aggressor country to finance the war against Ukraine. From February 2022 to November 22, 2024, russia earned almost 546 billion euros in revenues from oil exports (69% of all revenues from fossil fuel exports). In 2023, about a third of all tax revenues in russia came from the sale of oil and gas. The tax on oil production collected by the russian federation in 2023 amounted to 8.9 trillion rubles, or 31% of total federal revenues. According to the CREA data for October 2024, russia's revenues from crude oil exported by sea amounted to 210 million euros per day, 83% of the total volume of russian marine crude oil was transported by 'shadow' tankers, while tankers owned or insured in countries that impose price restrictions accounted for 17% of the total value of russian oil exported in October. Under the sanctions, russia has begun to build up its own shadow fleet of outdated tankers, which has no 'ties' with the G7 and the EU and can transport oil in violation of price caps. russia disguises its shadow activities at sea under the 'convenient' flags of third countries, operates at sea without proper insurance from the international club of insurers, uses complex schemes to conceal the owners of the shadow fleet, uses various deceptive tactics to conceal the origin of its cargo, creates threats to environmental safety with large-scale economic costs for coastal countries due to the growing threat of oil spills, does not use pilots to navigate difficult areas, etc. 'Shadow fleet' of the russian federation continues to provide multibillion-dollar revenues for the kremlin bypassing sanctions, disguising its activities under the flags of third countries, using complex schemes to conceal owners, and poses significant threats to environmental safety with significant economic costs for coastal countries and/or the international community due to the outdated and inadequate insurance of shadow fleet tankers.

The tanker is involved in the export of russian oil from russian ports in the Baltic and Black Seas with the AIS signal turned off, including in the Turkish EEZ. The vessel is certified by the Registro Italiano Navale (IACS). The international NGO Greenpeace refers to the tanker as part of the shadow fleet of tankers that transport russian oil around the world and threaten the environment. Oil exports from russia are the most important source of income for the regime of the aggressor country to finance the war against Ukraine. From February 2022 to November 22, 2024, russia earned almost 546 billion euros in oil export revenues (69% of all fossil fuel export revenues). In 2023, about a third of all tax revenues in russia came from the sale of oil and gas. The tax on oil production collected by the russian federation in 2023 amounted to 8.9 trillion rubles, or 31% of total federal revenues. According to the CREA data for October 2024, russia's revenues from crude oil exported by sea amounted to 210 million euros per day, 83% of the total volume of russian marine crude oil was transported by 'shadow' tankers, while tankers owned or insured in countries that impose price restrictions accounted for 17% of the total value of russian oil exported in October. Under the sanctions, russia has begun to build up its own shadow fleet of outdated tankers, which has no 'ties' with the G7 and the EU and can transport oil in violation of price caps. russia disguises its shadowy activities at sea under the 'convenient' flags of third countries, operates at sea without proper insurance from the international club of insurers, uses complex schemes to conceal the owners of the shadow fleet, uses various deceptive tactics to conceal the origin of its cargo, creates threats to environmental safety with large-scale economic costs for coastal countries due to the growing threat of oil spills, does not use pilots to navigate difficult areas, etc. russia's 'shadow fleet' continues to generate multibillion-dollar revenues for the kremlin bypassing sanctions, disguising its activities under the flags of third countries, using complex schemes to conceal owners, and poses significant environmental threats with significant economic costs to coastal countries and/or the international community due to the outdated and inadequate insurance of shadow fleet tankers.

Since September 2022 and during the period of the G7 and EU oil embargo and price-cap policy on russian oil, the tanker has been involved in exporting russian oil from russian ports in the Baltic and Black Seas to India, mainly, and has also been involved in violating the G7 and EU embargo. In particular, in March 2023, it was transporting russian oil from the russian port of Kavkaz in the Black Sea to the EU countries (Laconikos Gulf, Greece). The vessel is certified by DNV (IACS). The international NGO Greenpeace refers to the tanker as part of the shadow fleet of tankers that transport russian oil around the world and threaten the environment. The commercial management of the vessel is carried out by the Turkish company Westanker Ltd, which is included in the list of 11 new 'players' in the Turkish segment of the russian shadow fleet management, which together since the beginning of 2024 have been managing 47 tankers and helping russia to circumvent the price ceiling regime for russian oil. Thus, on the same day (February 22, 2024), six oil tankers (Tyche 1 (IMO 9308077), Daphne V (IMO 9321677), Cauveri (IMO 9282508), Oneiroi (IMO 9390587), Horae (IMO 9413004), Anaya (IMO 9326885)), which were operated by the sanctioned company Fractal Marine DMCC, were transferred to the management of the Turkish company Westanker Ltd. All six tankers in 2024 are actively involved in the transportation of russian oil from russian ports in the Black, Baltic Seas and Arctic regions of russia. The tanker's security is managed by Wanta Shipping LLC-FZ (UAE), which also manages 19 other vessels affiliated with Fractal Marine DMCC. Fractal Marine DMCC (UAE, under UK sanctions) is one of the leading operators of the russian shadow fleet in 2022-2023, and played a significant role in the transportation of russian oil. Fractal Marine DMCC operated a fleet of 28 tankers as an intermediary between ship owners and charterers. Fractal Marine DMCC, together with Gatik Ship Management (India) and Radiating World Shipping Services LLC (UAE, under UK sanctions), are considered to be the leading operators of the russian shadow fleet, which in early 2023 assembled a fleet of about 90 tankers, 90% of which transported russia's oil/oil products from russian Baltic and Black seas ports to India, China, Turkey, the Middle East, Africa and South America. In less than a year, the $2 billion fleet of oil tankers assembled by Fractal and Gatik could transport more than 40 million barrels of oil/oil products. Fractal Marine DMCC, Gatik Ship Management and Radiating World Shipping Services LLC in the tanker market helped russian oil continue to circulate around the world, and the russian government to provide multibillion-dollar revenues bypassing sanctions. On February 22, 2024, the United Kingdom imposed sanctions on Fractal Marine DMCC in connection with its involvement in servicing the russian energy sector. After the sanctions were imposed, Fractal Marine DMCC tried to challenge the sanctions imposed by the United Kingdom but lost in court. After that, the company 're-signed' its fleet to other companies. Oil exports from russia are the most important source of income for the regime of the aggressor country to finance the war against Ukraine. From February 2022 to November 22, 2024, russia earned almost 546 billion euros in oil export revenues (69% of all fossil fuel export revenues). In 2023, about a third of all tax revenues in russia came from the sale of oil and gas. The tax on oil production collected by the russian federation in 2023 amounted to 8.9 trillion rubles, or 31% of total federal revenues. According to the CREA data for October 2024, russia's revenues from crude oil exported by sea amounted to 210 million euros per day, 83% of the total volume of russian marine crude oil was transported by shadow tankers, while tankers owned or insured in countries that impose price restrictions accounted for 17% of the total value of russian oil exported in October. Shadow fleet of russia continues to generate multibillion-dollar revenues for the kremlin bypassing sanctions, disguising its activities under the flags of third countries, using complex schemes to conceal owners, and poses significant environmental threats with significant economic costs to coastal countries and/or the international community due to the outdated and inadequate insurance of shadow fleet tankers.

During the period of the G7+ oil embargo and the price cap on russian oil/oil products, the tanker is involved in the export of russian oil to third countries, in particular from russian ports in the Baltic Sea. The vessel is certified by DNV (IACS). The tanker is affiliated with the sanctioned PJSC Sovcomflot (beneficial owner), the largest state-owned shipping company in russia, a key company for servicing and supporting offshore hydrocarbon production, transportation of russian oil, oil products, and liquefied natural gas amid the application of sanctions restrictions to russia after its full-scale invasion of Ukraine. The services provided by PJSC Sovcomflot are a significant source of income for russia, as more than 70% of russia's revenues come from energy sales, which allows it to finance its war against Ukraine. The main charterers of Sovcomflot's vessels are russia's largest oil and gas companies and traders. Sovcomflot is involved in servicing major oil and gas projects in russia: 'Sakhalin-1', ‘Sakhalin-2’, ‘Varandey’, ‘Prirazlomnoye’, ‘Novy Port’, ‘Yamal LNG’ and others. Prior to russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, the company's fleet consisted of about 145 vessels. After the sanctions were imposed, Sovcomflot transferred dozens of vessels to the ownership of companies it had set up, including in foreign jurisdictions, in order to circumvent them, and began the practice of constantly ‘juggling’ (transferring) vessels to related companies. According to experts, the tankers ‘re-registered’ by Sovcomflot to related companies are part of the so-called ‘shadow tanker fleet’ of the russian federation to continue selling russian oil, oil products, and liquefied gas under western sanctions. According to the American human rights group United Against Nuclear Iran (UANI), which monitors tanker traffic related to Iran using satellite data, the vessel was involved in the transportation of Iranian oil.

The tanker, during the period of the G7 and EU oil embargo, the price-cap policy on ussian oil, has been involved in the export of russian oil from russian ports in the Baltic Sea to third countries since March 2023. The vessel is involved in the transportation of Venezuelan oil. In early December 2023, the tanker LIBERTY (the former name of the tanker) under the flag of Cameroon ran aground in the Strait of Malacca, which forced the Singaporean authorities to send 5 tugboats to the scene and prepare for an oil spill. In June 2023, the vessel entered the port of Ust-Luga, after which it was recorded with geometric circles off the coast of Angola in August-October. This location was previously associated with the Venezuelan dark fleet trade, in which tankers give out their location in Angola to disguise their real operations in Latin America. The vessel then sailed into the Indian Ocean via the Cape of Good Hope and arrived in Singapore in late November 2023, where it ran aground on December 2. Satellite research conducted by TankerTrackers.com claims that the LIBERTY was loaded with almost a million barrels of Venezuelan fuel oil. After the incident, the vessel changed its name from LIBERTY to VERNAL and the vessel's management. The Maritime Executive noted that Cameroon had become a 'shelter' for a shadow fleet, including those involved in the transportation of sanctioned russian oil. Vessels registered under the Cameroon flag have been linked to other oil smuggling operations, including in Iran and Venezuela. The international public organization Greenpeace refers to the tanker as a shadow fleet of tankers that transport russian oil around the world and threaten the environment.

During the period of the G7 and EU oil embargo and the price-cap policy on russian oil, the tanker is involved in the export of oil to third countries from russian ports in the Baltic Sea, and resorts to the practice of turning off the AIS signal, conducting so-called 'dark activities' at sea near Malaysia, Oman, Vietnam, Thailand, and Indonesia. The vessel is certified by the China Classification Society (IACS). The international NGO Greenpeace refers to the tanker as a shadow fleet. Oil exports from russia are the most important source of income for the kremlin regime to finance its war against Ukraine. The tax on oil production collected by the russian federation in 2023 amounted to 8.9 trillion rubles, or 31% of total federal revenues. According to CREA data for September 2024, russia's revenues from crude oil exported by sea amounted to 192 million euros per day, 86% of the total volume of russian marine crude oil was transported by 'shadow' tankers, while tankers owned or insured in countries that impose price restrictions accounted for 14% of the total value of russian oil exported in September. Thus, russia's shadow fleet continues to generate billions of dollars in revenue for the kremlin by circumventing sanctions, disguising its activities under the flags of third countries, using complex schemes to conceal owners, and poses significant environmental threats with significant economic costs to coastal countries and/or the international community due to the outdated and inadequate insurance of shadow fleet tankers.

During the period of the G7 and EU oil embargo and the price-cap policy on russian oil, the tanker is involved in the export of russian oil from russian ports to third countries. The owner, manager and commercial manager of the tanker since February 2024 is an unknown company Sapang Shipping Inc (Mauritius), and the ISM manager is the Indian company Bisu Marine & Shipping. The fleet of the shipowner and the ship ISM-manager consists only of the tanker 'JAGUAR'. The vessel is certified by the Indian regulator Indian Register of Shipping (IACS). The 'JAGUAR' tanker is affiliated with the Indian company Gatik Ship Management, one of the leading operators of the so-called 'shadow' fleet involved in the transportation of russian crude oil under Western sanctions, and the Gatik-related company Plutos Ship Management, which in 2023, together with Caishan Ship Management, Galena Ship Management, Gaurik Ship Management LLP, Geras Ship Management, Girik Ship Management, Orion Ship Management LLP, Nautilus Shipping (India), Ark Seakonnect Shipmanagment LLC, Zidan Ship Management, was involved in a scheme to 'juggle' vessels managed by Gatik Ship Management to avoid sanctions. Gatik Ship Management and Plutos Ship Management were the previous managers of the tanker 'JAGUAR'. Tankers operated/managed by India's Gatik Ship Management continue to be used by related companies and call at russian ports. As sanctions are being imposed, russia uses a scheme of 'juggling' ships between related companies to conceal oil exports outside the price cap and other restrictions, as well as to hide the real owners of ships, and to ensure unimpeded transportation of fossil fuels by a 'shadow' fleet of obsolete oil tankers, creates new companies for these purposes (in the UAE, Hong Kong, India, Turkey, Mauritius, Seychelles, and other jurisdictions) with non-transparent organizational and ownership structures. In order to implement this scheme, technical/commercial management and ship owners are constantly changing, and vessels are renamed with a change of flag, MMSI, call-sign, including for sanctioned vessels. Shadow fleet vessels operate under 'convenient flags', which allows them to conceal their true origin and avoid control by international organizations and insurance companies. Almost all vessels that are involved in the transportation of russian oil by the shadow fleet since 2022 have been certified by the Indian regulator Indian Register of Shipping (IACS). The certification of shadow fleet vessels allows the shipowner/operator to insure the vessels, which, in turn, allows the vessels to enter ports and pass through various specific sea routes (straits, canals, etc.). The 'shadow' fleet, transporting huge volumes of crude oil through heavily trafficked routes through narrow straits close to the coastline, without proper P&I insurance, with automatic identification systems disabled, threatens an environmental disaster with significant economic costs to be borne by the affected coastal countries and/or the international community. The recent incidents off Malaysia only underscore the need for swift action to curb the potentially devastating impact of the growing 'shadow fleet'. 'Shadow' tankers have already been involved in 50 incidents from the Danish Straits all the way to Malaysia since russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine. According to CREA, from January to August 2024, the number of shadow tankers crossing the Danish Straits in Europe increased by 277% compared to the same period in 2022, with 64% of the 46 million tons of russian marine oil transported through the Danish Straits being transported by shadow tankers. In the same period, the number of shadow tankers in the Straits of Dover and Gibraltar increased by 355% compared to 2022, transporting 67% of the 37 million tons of oil through the straits. The Suez Canal experienced a staggering 649% increase in shadow tanker traffic, with 69% of the 52 million tons of russian crude oil passing through it being transported by these vessels. Thus, the 'shadow fleet' of the russian federation continues to provide multibillion-dollar revenues for the kremlin bypassing sanctions, disguising its activities under the flags of third countries, using complex schemes to conceal owners, and poses significant threats to environmental safety with significant economic costs for coastal countries and/or the international community due to the outdated and inadequate insurance of shadow fleet tankers.