On the front line of Europe’s standoff with Russia’s shadow fleet

A coast guard officer in the western Baltic radios a nearby sanctioned oil tanker.

“The Swedish Coast Guard is calling… Do you agree to answer a few questions for us? Done.”

Heavy static, barely audible responses come from a crew member who slowly lists the ship’s insurance details, flag state, and last port of call, Suez, Egypt.

“I think this ship will go to Russia and buy oil,” says Swedish researcher Jonatan Tholin.

This is the front line of Europe’s uneasy standoff with Russia’s so-called “shadow fleet”; A term that generally refers to hundreds of tankers used to circumvent the price ceiling on Russian oil exports.

After the Kremlin began its large-scale invasion of Ukraine, many Western countries imposed sanctions on Russian energy; Moscow is accused of evading these sanctions by shipping oil on old tankers, often of unclear ownership or insurance.

Some “shadow” ships are even suspected of undersea sabotage, illegal drone launches, or “spoofing” location data.

In waves where freedom of navigation is the golden rule, coastal countries’ ability and appetite to intervene are limited, even though the risk they face increases.

A growing network of “shadow” ships are sailing without a valid national flag, which can leave ships stateless and without proper insurance, the BBC has learned.

This is a disturbing trend, given that many are practically “floating rust buckets,” says Michelle Wiese Bockmann, senior maritime intelligence analyst at Windward AI. If an accident like a billion-dollar oil spill occurs, “good luck finding someone responsible to cover any expenses.”

Driven by record sanctions and tougher enforcement, the number of ships flying false flags worldwide has more than doubled this year to over 450, according to the International Maritime Organization (IMO) database; most were tankers.

The BBC is tracking a ship that appears to have set sail without a valid flag.

Commodore Ivo Värk, commander of the Estonian navy, says they have seen dozens of ships of this type this year, whereas before they only saw one or two.

The increase is worrying, he said, speaking in his office overlooking the Gulf of Finland, a narrow passage leading to Russia’s major oil terminals Ust-Luga and Primorsk.

What’s more, he suggests, it’s presumptuous: “There’s no secret made about it.”

On the day we board an Estonian-made (British-made) Mine Hunter, which is also used in NATO’s Baltic Sentry patrols to protect critical infrastructure, we see the Unity tanker in the MarineTraffic application.

Traveling east, Unity is over 100 miles away but heading in our direction.

The BBC has researched the history of this ship and offers an illuminating insight into the mysterious life of a shadow ship.

Tracking data shows Unity has transited the English Channel four times in the last twelve months, including journeys between Russian ports and India; A major oil customer that has not signed the price ceiling.

Originally known as Ocean Explorer, the tanker was built in 2009 and flew the Singapore flag for more than a decade.

He was named in a UN report in 2019 for his alleged involvement in a ship-to-ship transfer on a ship sanctioned for its role carrying fuel to North Korea. This is among other countries accused of using elusive shadow ships.

The ship, which operated under the name Ocean Vela that year, received the Marshall Islands flag in late 2021 but was removed from that list in 2024 because the ship’s then operator and beneficial owner was sanctioned by the UK, a registry spokesperson told us.

The tanker appears to have had three more names (Beks Swan, March and Unity) and three more flags (Panama, Russia and Gambia) since 2021, but always maintains a unique IMO number.

In August, ship broadcast data shows Unity claimed the Lesotho flag, which was described as “fake”. Lesotho is a small landlocked African enclave kingdom with no official registration according to the IMO.

The BBC attempted to contact Unity’s owner, who is registered in Dubai. FMTC Chartering LLCHowever, our emails and calls remained unanswered.

According to maritime intelligence firm Windward AI, the actual owners of 60 percent of shadow fleet ships remain essentially unknown.

Opaque ownership structures and frequent name or flag changes have become a signature feature of the shadow fleet as a way to avoid detection.

Stripped of reputable registry and running out of low-quality alternatives, some ships are now at the point where they “don’t bother at all,” says Michelle Wiese Bockmann.

On Unity’s most recent voyage, we crossed the North Sea in late October, entered the Baltic and passed countries such as Sweden and Estonia (our spot).

By 6 November she was anchored outside the Russian port of Ust-Luga, which was still there at the time of publication.

The tanker was added to the UK and EU’s growing list of sanctioned ships earlier this year but, like many others, continues to do business despite other challenges.

In January, he reportedly sought refuge in the English Channel after experiencing mechanical failure during a storm. It was reported the following August detained at the Russian port due to technical problems and unpaid fees.

The Union is just one of hundreds of ships subjected to it. UK and EU service and port bans Both London and Brussels are trying to increase pressure on the Kremlin.

However, according to the Paris-based International Energy Agency (IEA), Russia’s revenue from crude oil and petroleum product sales was $13.1bn (£9.95bn) in October alone; however, this decreased by $2.3 billion compared to the same month the previous year.

Analysis by the Energy and Clean Air Research Center finds Sanctioned or suspected “shadow” tankers account for 62% of shipped Russian crude oil exports, with China and India by far the largest crude customers, followed by Turkey and the European Union.

Politicians are The act of hardening is mentionedNavy and coast guard officials point out that a country’s mobility decreases as it moves out to sea.

The right of innocent passage remains a cornerstone of maritime law, but stateless ships technically do not have this right.

Countries such as France, Finland and Estonia have seized ships and can do so if a crime is suspected, but such strict checks remain a relatively rare occurrence.

“There is a complexity to this,” says Commodore Ivo Värk. “Given the Russian presence near our borders, the risk of escalation is too high to do this on a regular basis.”

Estonians speak from experience.

Commodore Värk says Russia briefly deployed a fighter jet when they tried to intercept an unflagged tanker in May and has had about two navy ships “constantly” in the Gulf of Finland since then.

Fears of escalation if a more aggressive approach is adopted sit alongside broader concerns about trade retaliation.

“There are suspicious activities in the Baltics every day,” a NATO official told the BBC on condition of anonymity. However, the official added, “We do not want to be cowboys and jump on ships. The act of watching ships is a deterrent in itself.”

“Freedom of navigation is the lifeblood of all our economies.”

The radio conversation with the sanctioned tanker on the bridge of the Swedish coast guard ship ended.

“Thank you for your cooperation,” the officer says as the ship moves towards Russia.

The exchange took just over five minutes.

“You need to see it from a broader perspective,” says researcher Jonatan Tholin when I suggest that these measures are not very effective: “This information can be used in our maritime surveillance.”

But while Europe steps up controls and watches the waves, Windward’s Michelle Wiese Bockmann observes something else: “You can literally see the international rules-based order falling apart because of the sanctions-evading tactics of these ships.”

He says there is a lot at stake in terms of the environment and security, and meanwhile “the dark fleet is getting darker.”

The BBC contacted the Russian embassy in London for comment. In response, a spokesman said the West’s “anti-Russian sanctions” were “illegitimate” and “undermine established principles of global trade”.

“Labeling ships used to export Russian oil as a ‘shadow fleet’ is discriminatory and misleading,” the embassy said, adding that instances of invalid flags were often tied to “easily resolved” problems such as administrative delays.

The spokesman said it was countries imposing sanctions that were “increasing” the risks by “forcing ship owners and operators to navigate an increasingly fragmented and restrictive regulatory environment”.

Additional reporting by Adrienne Murray, Michael Steininger and Ali Zaidi