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

 

[Kirkhill]

And another one's gone....

https://www.wsj.com/world/americas/u-s-seizes-tanker-in-indian-ocean-after-weekslong-chase-from-caribbean-558649c2

 

[Kirkhill]

And India takes 3 Iranian tankers off the market.

India arrests three sanctioned Iran-linked tankers in operation to bust ‘oil-smuggling racket’

Coastguard said the operation was carried out west of Mumbai

www.tradewindsnews.com

 

[Kirkhill]

Samsung Heavy Industries Cancels Tanker Linked to Sanctioned Manager

According to a stock exchange filing, Korea’s Samsung Heavy Industries canceled the delivery of the first of two crude oil tankers just as the vessel...

maritime-executive.com

According to a stock exchange filing, Korea’s Samsung Heavy Industries canceled the delivery of the first of two crude oil tankers just as the vessel was due to be delivered. It cites the “shipowner’s financial difficulties,” warning that the second vessel could also be revised, while the speculation is that these tankers were ordered as part of a network linked to shipping Iranian and Russian oil.

Now its new ships for sanctioned companies being halted.

 

[Kirkhill]

RN creating a centre to track the Shadow Fleet.

Royal Navy to get new surveillance base to track Russian shadow fleet vessels

The Navy has confirmed it is looking at siting the new base in the northeast, but declined to offer any more details

www.forcesnews.com

The Royal Navy is planning to create a new surveillance base to track suspect Russian ships using drones and uncrewed vessels.

The Navy has confirmed it is looking at siting the new base in the northeast, but declined to offer any more details.

....

In recent months, several tankers thought to belong to the shadow fleet have passed through the English Channel without being stopped.

One option the Royal Navy may be considering is the Rattler, a 7.2-metre-long autonomous vessel that resembles a rigid inflatable boat but is entirely uncrewed.

In an exercise at the end of last year, the maritime service remotely piloted five Rattlers in a swarm formation around HMS Tyne, with the River-class offshore patrol vessel playing the role of an enemy warship.

The trial took place off the coast of Scotland, but the Rattlers were controlled from the Navy's specialist technology trials ship, XV Patrick Blackett, based 500 miles away in Portsmouth.

 

[Kirkhill]

Sanctioned Russian tankers redirecting to Singapore from India.

Russian oil tankers list Singapore as destination amid sanctions, shift to China

Move comes as India is set ‌to ⁠scale back or halt Russian oil imports after a recent US trade deal left China as Russia’s main customer.

www.scmp.com