Intelligence: China increased imports of Russian oil via “shadow fleet”, India reduced it
18.02.2026 - 10:13
In total, in January, tankers of the “shadow fleet” exported 14.3 million tons of oil from the Russian Federation — 1.41 million tons less than in the previous month.
At the beginning of the year, the number of active tankers of the “shadow fleet” of the Russian Federation decreased by 9 units, the Foreign Intelligence Service reported.
In January 2026, 138 tankers were recorded that were used to export oil and petroleum products. Of these, 117 vessels were from the core of the “shadow fleet”, 96 of which have already been subject to sanctions. At the same time, four new vessels that had not previously been seen attracted attention.
In January, tankers carried out 18 STS operations, mainly in the waters of the Sea of Japan (Nakhodka) and South China (Hong Kong), near the coast of Malaysia (EOPL), with the subsequent delivery of Russian oil to China.
The largest number of voyages in January (51) were made by sanctioned tankers to China (4.99 million tons) — 0.398 million tons more compared to the previous month. At the same time, the volume of oil delivered to India decreased by 2.27 million tons — to 3.22 million tons (29 voyages).
In January, sanctioned tankers made eight voyages to Turkey (0.904 million tons), and four voyages to Syria and Georgia (0.391 million tons). Also, in the first month of 2026, tankers of the “shadow fleet” made 45 voyages to unidentified countries and pumped 4.81 million tons of Russian oil — 0.25 million tons more compared to December 2025.
The largest number of voyages and volumes of exported oil and oil products are accounted for by the ports of the Russian Federation in the Baltic Sea and the Far East. In particular:
• in the Baltic Sea in January of this year, 59 voyages were made with a total volume of 6.24 million tons;
• Far East — 50 voyages with a total volume of 4.81 million tons;
• Black Sea — 13 voyages with a total volume of 1.48 million tons;
• North of the Russian Federation — 15 voyages with a total volume of 1.77 million tons.
Earlier, USM reported that France released the “shadow fleet” tanker Grinch.
