Study: Russia transferred 107 shadow fleet vessels to its flag due to sanctions pressure

From the beginning of 2025 to the end of June 2026, Russia added 107 vessels to its ship registry. 87% of them were already under sanctions at the time of the flag change.

This is stated in a report by the Center for Research on Energy and Clean Air (CREA).

According to the researchers, the Russian registry grew by 36% over this period, from 280 to 382 vessels. Of the 107 new vessels, 72 were transporting Russian fossil fuels to global markets. As of the end of June, they had delivered €7.5 billion worth of such fuels.

The report notes that the shadow fleet vessels previously mostly used open ship registers. However, due to sanctions pressure from the EU, the UK and the US, some countries began to refuse to register such vessels. After that, some of them began to use false flags, and are now increasingly switching to the Russian flag.

According to CREA, 56% of vessels that joined the Russian register after January 2025 sailed under a false flag at least once between being sanctioned and being registered in Russia.

The number of shadow fleet vessels operating false flags is decreasing, from 101 in October 2025 to 45 at the end of June 2026.

At the same time, Barbados and Palau have completely removed from their registers all Russian tankers that previously sailed under their flags, and Panama has reduced their number by almost two-thirds since May 2025.

At the same time, the pace of replenishment of the Russian register has already slowed down — if in December 2025, 25 vessels were added to it, then in June 2026, only three.

Separately, the report mentions the Russian LNG tanker “Arctic Metagaz”. In March 2026, an explosion occurred on it, after which the ship drifted uncontrolled in the Mediterranean Sea for more than a month.

On board were almost 60 000 tons of Russian liquefied natural gas. Russia did not conduct a rescue operation, so Libya, Malta and Italy dealt with the consequences of the incident.

The authors note that under international maritime law, the country whose flag a vessel flies must exercise effective control over it. They believe the “Arctic Metagaz” case highlights the risks posed by older, shadowy fleet vessels, particularly when they are left without proper insurance and control.

What is known about the Russian shadow fleet?

In early December 2022, the G7 members, as well as Australia and the EU, imposed price caps on Russian oil, setting a maximum price of $60 per barrel. From February 5, 2023, these countries imposed price caps on Russian petroleum products: $100 for diesel and $45 for various lubricants.

To circumvent oil sanctions, Russia has begun to form a shadow fleet. This is a fleet of old tankers that turn off their beacons so that they cannot be seen by tracking systems. They transport mainly crude oil, petroleum products and LNG. These tankers are operated mostly by the Russian state-owned company “Suchkomflot”.

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