“Shadow Fleet” Tankers are Increasingly Flying the Russian Flag — Windward
21.07.2026 - 12:42
More than 210 vessels subject to international sanctions are currently flying the Russian flag.
Russia has become the largest flag for shadow fleet tankers subject to Western sanctions, according to a new study by the analytical company Windward.
According to the company, since November 2025, about 69 sanctioned tankers have transferred to the Russian register, and in total, 98 vessels were re-registered under the Russian flag during 2025-2026. As of today, more than 213 sanctioned tankers fly the Russian flag – this is more than one in five of the more than a thousand vessels subject to Western sanctions.
Windward explains that shadow fleet operators are increasingly changing flags due to increased control over vessels without official registration. After the US and later European countries began to detain or inspect unflagged tankers, using official registers became a less risky alternative.
In addition to Russia, the shadow fleet also actively uses the registers of Equatorial Guinea, Cameroon, Sierra Leone and Oman. In particular, 36 sanctioned tankers were added to the Equatorial Guinea register this year, which now accounts for 95% of its total tanker tonnage.
At the same time, Cameroon, which remains the second in terms of the number of flags for sanctioned vessels, previously excluded about 55 tankers from the register. Despite this, according to Windward, at least 20 vessels continue to illegally transmit information about the Cameroonian flag via AIS, although they have already lost the right to use it.
