Russian tanker uses fake insurance certificate and false flag, intelligence says
20.03.2026 - 16:03
The Russian sanctioned vessel “PAZ”, which is part of the so-called “shadow fleet”, uses a false flag of Curacao and has false insurance.
The shipowner is Boom Trading Ltd, a company registered in the Marshall Islands, according to the Foreign Intelligence Service of Ukraine.
According to intelligence, on March 9, the tanker PAZ (IMO:9233765), which is under sanctions by the US, EU, UK and Ukraine, left the port of Murmansk to deliver 140 thousand tons of Russian oil to the PRC. The exporter of this oil is PJSC Gazpromneft.
In total, in 2023–2025, the vessel made 5 voyages with Russian oil to India and China, as well as 4 voyages with Venezuelan oil to the PRC.
Intelligence officers discovered that since March 2025, this tanker has been using a false flag of Curacao (the Curacao maritime register is included in the EU sanctions lists). At the same time, the tanker has false insurance. The vessel declares the use of an insurance certificate from the German company Seaguard P&I.
“However, there is no information in the German registers about the existence or registration of such a commercial structure,” the Foreign Intelligence emphasized.
Read also: Russia plans to organize military convoys to protect the “shadow fleet.”
