Russia’s ‘shadow vessels’ using false flags to skirt sanctions, report says

According to a new report, Russian “shadow vessels” are using false flags to deceive Russian authorities over its conflict in Ukraine.

According to a report released on Thursday by the Helsinki-based Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air (CREA), 113 Russian vessels flown a false flag in total over the first nine months of this year, transporting roughly 11 million tonnes of oil worth $4. 7 billion ($5.4 billion).

According to report co-author Luke Wickenden, “Russian shadow tankers sailing under false flags are now growing alarmingly frequently.”

“False-flagged vessels alone traveled through the Danish Straits to transport 1.4 billion euros ($1.6 billion) of Russian crude oil and oil products” in September.

To avoid being scrutinized, Russia’s secretive shadow fleet transports prohibited goods, particularly oil, under non-Russian flags.

Every ship operating in international waters is required to fly a flag that grants it legal authority to conduct its operations there.

Countries are able to fly their flag and grant their nationality under the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea.

Some nations offer open registries that permit the use of their flag by foreign-owned or controlled vessels, a practice that some shippers favor due to lower registration costs and regulatory burdens.

As of the end of September, CREA reported that 96 sanctioned vessels had flown a false flag at least once this year.

According to the think tank, 85 vessels have at least two flag changes registered within the United States Department of Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) or the United Kingdom, in total.

At least 10 Russian ships were registered in their fleet in September 2025, according to CREA, for a total of 162 shadow vessels, compared to the six flag registries that had not flagged a Russian ship prior to Moscow’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.

“We also see that shadow vessel operators are exploiting the capacity limitations of economically weak nations to use their flags and existing regulations to obtain passage rights to deliver blood oil,” said co-author Vaibhav Raghunandan, urging the EU and the UK to change their flagging policies and practices.

According to CREA, its report was based on information from the maritime safety platform Equasis, including vessel ownership and flag registry records.

It claimed to have cross-referenced the data with the global shipping industry database GSIS (Global Integrated Shipping System).

More evasive methods

The findings from the Center for a New American Security in Washington, according to Rachel Ziemba, an adjunct senior fellow at the organization.

On the back of increased pressure from the EU and China’s plans to block so-called “zombie vessels,” which use the registration numbers of retired vessels, Ziemba claimed Moscow had used “more evasive techniques.”

“There is an open question about enforcement,” Ziemba said, despite the US and the EU’s continued implementation of new sanctions on Russian oil.

Countries would need to target vessels, intermediaries, and buyers in order to significantly reduce Russia’s oil sales, she said, as sanctions enforcement becomes more difficult as a result of the growing illicit trade.

According to Ziemba, “but that comes with costs,” suggesting that China, a major buyer of Russian oil, might launch retaliations against nations that enacted tougher sanctions.

Source: Aljazeera