“The GUR stated that the “Marine vessels” section now contains information on more than 1,200 vessels, more than half of which are part of Russia’s “shadow fleet”, as well as data on almost 300 captains who are directly involved in violating the international sanctions regime”, — write: www.radiosvoboda.org
The HUR noted that the figures in the new publication were:
- new shadow tankers used by Russia from 2025 to bypass sanctions control;
- vessels that “belong to the shipping empire of the Iranian oil magnate and the main supplier of weapons to the Russian Federation, Mohammed Hossein Shamkhani – the son of the former Iranian Defense Minister Ali Shamkhani,” which provide transportation of sanctioned oil;
- oil tankers from the orbit of Astrakhan businessman Jamaldin Pashaev, related to the logistics of the “North-South” transport corridor, intended for trade with Iran;
- sea vessels involved in the transportation of stolen Ukrainian grain, which Russia passes off as its own products on the international market;
- Russian and foreign vessels carrying out illegal activities to the ports closed by Ukraine in the occupied territories.
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The GUR stated that the “Marine Vessels” section now contains information on more than 1,200 vessels, more than half of which are part of Russia’s “shadow fleet”, as well as data on almost 300 captains who are directly involved in violating the international sanctions regime.
“The export of crude oil, oil products, gas, grain, coal, sulfur and fertilizers is one of the key components of the Russian economy, which provides billions in revenues to the budget of the aggressor country and finances its war against Ukraine… Against the background of blocking the legal commercial activity of sanctioned vessels, Russia continues to build up its “shadow” tanker fleet, attracting shell companies and ghost ships to preserve their export flows,” the intelligence said.
Since the beginning of the full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, Russia has been increasingly using such vessels with opaque ownership structures and dubious insurance policies. European countries have repeatedly accused these vessels of creating environmental risks and damaging underwater infrastructure, including energy and telecommunications networks.