RANGLER

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well as to hide the real owners of ships, and to ensure unimpeded transportation of fossil fuels by a 'shadow' fleet of outdated oil tankers, creates new companies for these purposes (in the UAE, Hong Kong, India, Turkey, Mauritius, Seychelles, and other jurisdictions) with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.
On April 11, 2025, Ukraine imposed sanctions on the master of vessel IMO 9206671.