US military hit tankers linked to Russia’s shadow fleet, Vlasyuk says

Three of the five tankers that were hit by the US military in the Gulf of Oman on September 8 have connections with the Russian shadow fleet.

This was reported by the Presidential Commissioner for Sanctions Policy Vladyslav Vlasyuk in a comment to Ukrinform.

According to him, these are the tankers Kaviz, Charminar and Riesco, which transported Russian oil, called at Russian ports and were used to operate under sanctions.

Kaviz went to Ust-Luga and Novorossiysk, transported Russian oil and had a practice of turning off the AIS tracking system. The vessel was associated with Fractal Marine DMCC, a company that is called one of the key operators of the Russian shadow fleet in the first years after the introduction of oil sanctions.

The Charminar vessel called at Ust-Luga, Primorsk, Vysotsk, St. Petersburg. After the UK imposed sanctions on Fractal Marine, the vessels associated with it began to be transferred to other managers, but the operations with Russian oil continued.

“At the same time, Charminar is connected to the shipping empire controlled by Iranian oil magnate Mohammed Hossein Shamkhani, which simultaneously works with Iranian and Russian oil,” said Vladislav Vlasyuk.

In turn, Riesco transported both Russian and Iranian oil, in particular through transshipments with other sanctioned tankers.

Vlasyuk emphasized that all three vessels are under sanctions by Ukraine and the US, and Kaviz is also under sanctions by the EU, the UK, Canada and Switzerland.

“The Russian and Iranian shadow fleets intersect through vessels, managers, intermediaries and oil routes. That is why the reaction to such vessels should be tough, regardless of whose flag and in whose interests they formally operate,” the commissioner noted.

As previously reported by USM, on September 8, the US military attacked the tankers Kaviz, Charminar, Horizon 1 and Riesco in the Gulf of Oman, as well as the Derya near Iran’s key oil export terminal.

The photo is illustrative.