russia’s «shadow fleet» is polluting Europe’s seas
russian sanctioned tankers continue to operate freely in European waters, polluting the seas with oil.
▫️ According to a journalistic investigation, at least five tankers from russia’s “shadow fleet” have left oil slicks near European coasts, despite some of them already being under UK sanctions. This highlights that the threat posed by russia’s “shadow fleet” to Europe also has an environmental dimension.
▫️ russian companies find ways to bypass restrictions by changing flags, owners, and routes. Tankers often turn off their transponders and ignore environmental and navigation rules, creating risks of accidents and ecological disasters in the Baltic, North, and Mediterranean Seas.
The “shadow fleet” problem goes far beyond sanctions policy — it is a European security issue. When vessels linked to russia operate uncontrollably near NATO countries’ coasts, it is not only about evading sanctions but also about russia’s deliberate destabilization of the situation in European states.
