Russian tankers in the dark - threat of circumvention of sanctions

Russian tankers transporting oil and chemicals are increasingly concealing their positions. Shipping experts warn that this could indicate attempts to circumvent the sanctions triggered by the invasion of Ukraine.

In the last week of March, there were at least 33 cases of so-called "dark activity", they had switched off the AIS systems. This is more than double the weekly average of 14 last year. The incidents occurred mainly in or around Russia's exclusive economic zone.

Under international maritime law, merchant ships must have their automatic identification system (AIS) switched on at sea. The deactivation or manipulation of the ship identification system is at the top of the list of fraudulent shipping practices that the US Treasury Department cited last May in a recommendation to curb illegal maritime traffic and circumvent sanctions.

As more and more countries and companies are avoiding trade with Russia, the Russian merchant fleet is under pressure. They have to disguise some of their activities. If the isolation of Russian ships and crews continues, they will have little choice but to accept illegal offers. In many cases of clandestine activity, operations are conducted between a Russian-flagged or Russian-owned vessel and non-Russian vessels. Ships operating side-by-side exhibit telltale movement patterns and speeds, even when their transponders are switched off. Satellite images can also provide information about operations. It is assumed that this could be a transhipment to ships from third countries that are not affected by sanctions. The Israeli maritime security agency Windward reported that ships have also been detected entering Russian territorial waters for the first time, although the total number of ships travelling to Russia is decreasing. According to Windward, 22 individual vessels - some of which are owned or operated by companies registered in the UK, US and Germany - have entered Russian territorial waters for the first time since the outbreak of the conflict.

In one case, a tanker operated by an American company left the Chinese city of Dongying on 25 February and entered Russian waters on 3 March, calling at its first Russian port in Nakhodka. The tanker left the port and called at a tanker terminal in Vladivostok on 19 March.

Source: Bloomberg L.P. / Windward