russia hides “shadow” tankers from sanctions in African ship registries
russia is resorting to new methods to circumvent sanctions imposed on its “shadow fleet,” exploiting vulnerabilities in the global maritime system. In particular, russia is increasingly using African ship registries to conceal its “shadow fleet” under foreign jurisdictions.
▫️ Researchers at The Institute for Security Studies (ISS) note that more than half of all recorded cases of false flag usage involve African countries. For example, 83 vessels claimed registration in the Comoros, while in Cameroon the registry’s tonnage grew by 126% over the past year—largely due to an influx of high-risk tankers linked to russia’s “shadow fleet.”
▫️ These jurisdictions often have weaker oversight, making it more difficult to identify the true ownership of vessels, verify insurance coverage, or track routes. This lack of transparency allows such operations to remain hidden from full international monitoring for longer periods.
This situation demonstrates that the global maritime oversight system requires improvement to close the gaps russia exploits to evade sanctions. As long as these “loopholes” persist, the kremlin will continue to preserve oil revenues that finance its war against Ukraine.
