The Shadow Fleet

[Kirkhill]

BBC Verify: Tracking shows eight sanctioned Russian tankers currently in English Channel

Latest updates from the BBC's specialists in fact-checking, verifying video and tackling disinformation.

www.bbc.com

I thought it was wothwhile concentrating Shadow Fleet operations in one place

 

[Kirkhill]

Y

Post in thread 'Russia in the 21st Century [Superthread]'

22 Jan 2026

I don't get why more countries aren't catching shadow fleet ships. They are massive environmental risks. And they are free oil money. And they hurt Russia. What's the downside here?

• ytz

• 

Post in thread 'CRINK - The Rise of Eurasia'

23 Jan 2026

Early dark fleet leader quits shipping - Splash247

Radiating World Services, one of the more recognisable names linked to the so-called dark fleet, has exited VesselsValue’s fleet database. A vessel most closely associated with the outfit has meanwhile changed hands twice in short order. The ship in question is the 2006-built LR2 tanker Eastern...

splash247.com

I am starting to see this Dark Fleet/Shadow Fleet as CRINK's navy, as a fleet of modern Q-ships analogous to Putin's "Little Green Men". A fleet of blockade runners and sanction busters that support commercial endeavours; that transport little green men, wolf warriors and IRGC; that conduct espionage and sabotage; that support criminal activity like drug running and insurgencies; and, given what can be packed into a container these days, a military threat.

Treating them all like pirates and taking them off the seas...

• Kirkhill

 

[Kirkhill]

Another oops!

Tanker with Russian oil products loses steering off Spanish coast

A Mozambique-flagged tanker with Russian oil is drifting off Almería's coast. Environmentalists are concerned about potential spills impacting marine life and tourism.

www.euronews.com

 

[Kirkhill]

More hybrid warfare

https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2026/02/04/russia-shadow-fleet-europe-sanctions/

 

[ModlrMike]

With apologies to Stan Rogers:

Oh the year was 2026
How I wish I was in Kyiv now,
A letter of marque came from Vladmir
to all Ukrainians far and near

An Old Solution to a New Problem: Ukraine's Letter of Marque

One of the key components of the West’s response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine was to enact heavy sanctions on Russia’s energy sector, thus depriving the Russian war machine the money it needed to continue the invasion. There has been some success in...

www.dailykos.com

 

[YZT580]

With apologies to Stan Rogers:

Oh the year was 2026
How I wish I was in Kyiv now,
A letter of marque came from Vladmir
to all Ukrainians far and near

An Old Solution to a New Problem: Ukraine's Letter of Marque

One of the key components of the West’s response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine was to enact heavy sanctions on Russia’s energy sector, thus depriving the Russian war machine the money it needed to continue the invasion. There has been some success in...

www.dailykos.com

legitimize the Somalia people. They have the experience and the resources