Dozens of suspected sanction‑busting tankers reflagged to Russia, Lloyd’s List says

Forty ships accused of belonging to a large “shadow fleet” moving sanctioned oil for Venezuela and others were reflagged to Russia last year, apparently in an effort to gain Kremlin protection from American seizure, analysis by Lloyd’s List suggests. The publication said at least 17 suspicious vessels joined the Russian registry over the past month, compared with 15 ships in the previous five months of 2025.

Lloyd’s List defines the “shadow fleet” as ships that use deceptive practices to transport goods, including oil and gas, in violation of sanctions and price caps. The tactic of switching flags has not always worked: the tanker Marinera, formerly known as the Bella 1, was seized by US special forces after changing from a falsified Guyanese flag to a Russian flag, and a second vessel, M/T Sophia, was seized in the Caribbean and escorted to the US coastguard on grounds of “illicit activities”.

In early December US special forces also seized the Skipper, a tanker off Venezuela that the US Treasury had sanctioned in 2022 over claims it had smuggled oil for Iran’s Revolutionary Guards and Hezbollah. Bridget Diakun of Lloyd’s List Intelligence said that as of October there were 1,423 ships suspected of moving sanctioned goods for Russia, Iran and Venezuela, and that the fleet had been growing by about 10 vessels a month.

Key Topics

World, Shadow Fleet, Russia, Venezuela, Sanctions, Marinera