Windward: At least 120 “shadow” tankers may be reflagged by Russia
11.02.2026 - 14:20
After the tightening of sanctions against stateless vessels, more and more tankers of the “shadow fleet” are being re-registered in Russia.
Windward analysts predict that in the coming months at least 120 tankers sailing under fictitious flags may come under the jurisdiction of the Russian Federation. Splash writes about this.
The reason is called the strengthening of Western measures against the so-called stateless vessels, which accelerates structural changes in the logistics of Russian oil exports.
Thus, since May 2025, almost 70 tankers have already changed their flag to the Russian one. Of these, 40 — after the December wave of detentions and confiscations of vessels under false registers by the USA, Great Britain and France.
At the same time, a study by Clarksons shows that over the past 12 months the number of vessels flying the Russian flag has increased by more than 25%.
In 2025, more than 300 tankers involved in the sanctioned oil trade from Iran, Venezuela or Russia repeatedly changed flags, using “convenient” or fictitious registries. Under Western pressure, many of these vessels were deregistered and effectively became stateless.
Vessels without a valid registration are vulnerable to detention and enforcement at sea. Transferring to the Russian flag (often the only option) restores their formal legal status under international maritime law. Windward estimates that about half of the tankers that have already changed flags are associated with the state-owned company Sovcomflot.
Analysts also note that about 120 large Russian tankers (over 180 m in length) still fly the flags of 19 dubious registries – among them Botswana, Guyana, Guinea and Madagascar. In total, more than 650 tankers are under sanctions for participating in circumvention of restrictions related to Russian oil.
The situation may worsen if the 20th EU sanctions package is adopted, which provides for the replacement of the “price ceiling” mechanism with a complete ban on maritime services related to the export of Russian crude oil.
Tanker brokers Poten & Partners believe that if this initiative is implemented, Russia will become almost completely dependent on the “shadow fleet”.
As USM reported the day before, the UK plans to create a headquarters to control and intercept vessels of the “shadow fleet” of the Russian Federation.
