More than two dozen sanctioned tankers have switched to a Russian flag since the start of December as a means of avoiding seizure by U.S. forces, Bloomberg has reported, citing data from Starboard Maritime Intelligence.
As many as 26 tankers are currently sailing under a Russian flag, compared to only six in November and 14 for the five months to November, the data showed. The switches accelerated after the United States seized the tanker Skipper off the Venezuelan coast in early December, Bloomberg noted in its report.
There are 1,500 tankers that are used to ship Russian, Iranian, and Venezuelan crude, Bloomberg said, and of them 13% are now Russian-flagged. “This may offer a new potential solution for the illicit dark-fleet networks, but it also raises the stakes,” Charlie Brown, an adviser for an advocacy group dubbed United Against Nuclear Iran, told Bloomberg. The group tracks sanctioned tankers. “Because it underscores that sanctions evasion is no longer just a maritime compliance problem, but a strategic challenge involving state protection and geopolitical risks,” Brown said.
The flag-switching is taking place even after U.S. forces seized a tanker sailing under the Russian flag earlier this month, after a weeks-long chase across the ocean. The Bella 1 was seized for sanction violations, the U.S. said. The tanker has been under sanctions since 2024 for allegedly shipping crude on behalf of an organization linked to Hezbollah. To date, the United States has seized a total of five tankers but companies involved in trade with sanctioned oil appear to believe that affiliation with Russia by putting up its flag could grant them political protection, Charlie Brown also told Bloomberg.
According to an analyst from Starboard Maritime Intelligence, “The story is really a persistent, global reflagging of dark-fleet tankers. “It’s unlikely to stop at this number,” Mark Douglas told Bloomberg.
By Irina Slav for Oilprice.com
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