“It is not unusual, even before the war,” said KSE economist Elina Robakova.
“The shadow fleet is also used to avoid the normal business model” such as high insurance costs, she said.
Asia gets most Russian dark fuels after EU embargo – China, India main importers
Asia gets most Russian dark fuels after EU embargo – China, India main importers
According to statistics from Lloyd’s List Intelligence, the number of these types of ships doubled last year and now make up some 10 per cent of oil tankers operating internationally.
That accounted for some 1,400 ships, the Atlantic Council said in January.
Initially successful, the US$60 per barrel price ceiling on Russian oil lost its impact once Moscow found new buyers and new tankers to deliver its exports.
Companies based in the EU, G7 member states and Australia are banned from providing services enabling maritime transport, such as insurance, of oil above that price.
To get around the sanctions, Moscow has had to reduce its dependence on Western maritime services by buying tankers and providing its own insurance, said Rystad Energy, a consultancy.
Ribakova estimates that more than 70 per cent of Russian oil transported by sea uses the ghost fleet.
KSE estimated in its “Russian Oil Tracker” report in December that 179 loaded shadow fleet tankers left Russian ports in November 2023.
Last October, the Russian shadow fleet enabled the export of some 2.3 million barrels per day of crude and 800,000 barrels of petroleum products out of a total Russian production of 10 million barrels a day, it added.
“Most of this dark fleet have not been inspected recently, have substandard maintenance, unclear ownership, no insurance and are being operated to circumvent sanctions and high insurance costs,” said Lloyd’s List Intelligence in December.
KSE regularly warns that the ageing vessels pose “huge environmental risks for the EU”, as the ageing, poorly maintained vessels skirt the coastlines of several European countries.
Singapore’s tanker seizures soar to record highs as Russian dark oil fleet grows
Singapore’s tanker seizures soar to record highs as Russian dark oil fleet grows
Ships built more than 20 years ago are expected to comprise 11 per cent of the global tanker fleet by 2025, according to the Atlantic Council.
Before the war in Ukraine, the figure was three per cent.
None of the ships in the Russian ghost fleet has adequate P&I insurance – a must for commercial vessels to cover risks from war, collisions or environmental damage such as oil spills.
For the Atlantic Council, the shadow fleet is a non-military but powerful weapon because Ukraine backers would pay the price in the event of an accident at sea with a Western ship, or an oil spill.