Flags from 30 countries and oil from Russia: How the shadow fleet operates
A Russian-flagged tanker carrying 60 thousand metric tons of liquefied natural gas exploded in the Mediterranean Sea. It drifted for over a month while other countries carried out salvage and rescue operations. Russia, meanwhile, continues to expand its shadow fleet, using flags from dozens of countries to evade sanctions. Frontliner investigated why sanctions don’t stop Russian shipping, how the shadow fleet works, and what environmental threats it poses.
In March 2026, the 22-year-old tanker Arctic Metagaz, carrying 60 thousand metric tons of Russian liquefied natural gas, went adrift in the Mediterranean Sea after a series of explosions. Emergency crews from Libya, Malta, and Italy carried out rescue and salvage operations. Russia was conspicuously absent from this list, even though the tanker was flying under the Russian flag.
What is the shadow fleet?
The shadow fleet is a system of maritime logistics for the Russian Federation formed in 2022 for the purpose of evading sanctions. Its ships primarily transport oil, petroleum products, and liquefied natural gas (LNG). The defining feature of the fleet is its avoidance of the jurisdictions of G7 countries: the ships’ owners, operating companies, registrations, and insurers are all outside of the coalition. In August 2026, 258 tankers left Russian ports. 166 of these, over 60%, were part of the shadow fleet.
Any seagoing vessel must meet strict requirements:
- A flag of the country the ship is registered in;
- An identified owner: the person or company the ship belongs to;
- Companies responsible for commercial and technical operations;
- Insurance covering risks, including oil spills at sea;
- Certification from a ship classification society and documents confirming compliance with safety and environmental regulations;
- A certified crew;
- An operating automatic identification system (AIS) that allows for tracking the vessel; and
- Documentation for any freight.
The main function of the shadow fleet is to evade sanctions through flag exploitation, change of ownership, and documents that create a veneer of legal activity.
Why does a ship need a flag?
As of October 2026, the Defense Intelligence of Ukraine has identified 770 vessels engaged in the transport of sanctioned Russian oil, petroleum products, and LNG. They sail under flags from over 30 countries, as shown in the Frontliner infographic below:
Ships can change flags. In one case, a tanker from the Russian shadow fleet changed flags nine times to evade sanctions. Typically, once sanctions are imposed on a ship, it will change flags every three to four months. This is done by re-registering the vessel in a different country under a new name. The procedure itself is legal, but doing it with such frequency is atypical. After several changes of flag, old tankers often end up staying in the Russian registry, as their sanctions history complicates registration in other countries.
Who can own a ship?
Owners and operating companies of shadow fleet vessels change as often as the flags. In March 2026, companies from China, Russia, and the UAE carried out the commercial operations of 60% of the shadow fleet, owned 60% of the ships, and were responsible for technical operations for 64% of them. In April, these figures rose to 62%, 62%, and 72% respectively.
How does that work?
A report from Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air (CREA) detailed the history of one such vessel and demonstrated how the scheme works. The tanker Progress, formerly of Greek ownership, is over 19 years old. In June 2023, it was sold to a Chinese company. In May 2025, the tanker was included in sanctions lists by the EU and Great Britain. It then changed flags to Benin and once again to a Russian one. In January 2026, Progress transported oil worth 52 million euros from Russia’s Primorsk to China and India.
Who insures the tankers?
Documentation for marine insurance is inspected while the ship is still in port. But having an insurance policy doesn’t guarantee that the risks are actually covered. International insurers avoid working with shipments of Russian oil, and so the shadow fleet is insured by Russian companies. One such company is Ingosstrakh, which itself was included in sanctions packages by the UK and the U.S. in 2024.
According to Lloyd’s List, another Russian company, Soglasie, insured about one third of Russian tanker routes in the Baltic Sea until February 2026. In 2024, the European Parliamentary Research Service established that the insurers of two thirds of the ships carrying Russian oil were unknown.
Insurance isn’t the only problem for these vessels; there is also the responsibility of the countries under whose flags they sail. Under article 94 of the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea, countries are required to exercise jurisdiction over and control of ships sailing under their flag. Arctic Metagaz was sailing under the Russian flag in the Mediterranean, but Russia did not carry out any rescue operations.
Why does the shadow fleet continue to exist?
On January 10, 2025, the US Department of the Treasury sanctioned 183 vessels along with the companies Gazprom Neft and Surgutneftegas. The 19th sanctions package from the EU added 118 ships; the 21st added 40 more. As of May 2026, there were 632 vessels under EU sanctions, 544 under UK sanctions, and 216 under US sanctions.
Each new expansion of the sanctions lists has an increasingly small effect. Sanctions work only as long as ships depend on Western services. A sanctioned tanker flying a Russian flag, insured by a Russian company, and operated by a Chinese company can continue transporting cargo without the involvement of any western companies. In such cases, the opportunities to enforce sanctions are significantly reduced.
Sanctions can still be enforced. Inspection of insurance certificates and ships in port and monitoring of marine shipping and buyers of Russian oil remain effective measures. Time is also a factor. Most of the shadow fleet tankers are more than 15 years old, and Russia has limited options for replenishing the fleet. Meanwhile, the old tankers continue to wear out, and the risk of accidents and oil spills continues to grow.
