The Foreign Intelligence Service of Ukraine has obtained information about Kremlin plans to increase the number of tankers transporting oil under the Russian flag. This decision is driven by the growing number of incidents in which European countries and the United States have detained tankers from Russia’s “shadow fleet.”
Additionally, this may indicate coordination between Russia and Iran to ensure the safe passage of “shadow fleet” vessels through conflict zones in the Middle East.
The Federal Autonomous Institution “Russian Maritime Register of Shipping” (subject to EU sanctions) plans to identify and inspect about 80 tankers in the near future for re-registration purposes.
The distribution of these tankers by the owners’ country of registration is as follows: Seychelles – 35 vessels, China – 23 vessels, Azerbaijan – 13 vessels, and Samoa – 8 vessels. There are also tankers registered to owners in Vietnam, India, the UAE, and the Marshall Islands.
Increasing the “shadow fleet” under the Russian flag automatically facilitates the Kremlin’s ability to deploy intelligence agents on these vessels for reconnaissance and sabotage activities against Western countries. This is particularly relevant in the Baltic region, through which over 40% of Russia’s maritime oil exports are transported.
Registering tankers under the Russian flag fully “frees the Kremlin’s hands” in using these vessels as instruments of hybrid threats against Europe and other Western countries.
This method was used by the Kremlin in January 2026 with the tanker BELLA 1 (IMO 9230880), which transported oil on behalf of Iran and Venezuela. This “shadow fleet” vessel received Russian registration immediately after being caught flying a false flag of Guyana.
