US and European shipowners sold 230 ageing tankers to Russian ‘shadow fleet’ Vessels used to evade sanctions on oil exports and help fund war against Ukraine, investigation reveals.
European and US shipowners have sold at least 230 ageing tankers into the “shadow fleet” used by Russia to evade western sanctions on its oil exports and help fund its war against Ukraine, an international investigation reveals.
In total, owners from 21 of the 35 countries that have placed sanctions on the oil trade with Russia had sold tankers into the shadow fleet, the investigation, led by a Dutch investigative outlet, Follow the Money (FTM), and involving newsrooms in nine countries, revealed.
In late 2023 the EU introduced new rules requiring companies selling vessels to third countries to check they were not used for sanctions-busting – but 32 European-owned tankers have been sold into the shadow fleet since then.
After the G7 and EU introduced an oil price cap in late 2022 barring companies registered on their territories from facilitating sales of Russian oil above a certain price, prices for vessels that could be registered in non-western jurisdictions soared.
