Russia is increasing its shadow fleet network in anticipation of the complete cessation of European imports of Russian oil and gas, which will take effect on January 1, 2027.
Russia is increasing its shadow fleet network in anticipation of the complete cessation of European imports of Russian oil and gas, which will take effect on January 1, 2027.
Ships in this fleet include liquefied natural gas (LNG) tankers. In the last six months, at least eight such tankers have been sold and redirected to service Russian oil exports, bringing the total number of LNG tankers in the shadow fleet to 25 vessels. Among them are also two new ships built at Russia's 'Zvezda' shipyard.
The total number of Russian shadow fleet vessels has exceeded one thousand, as they continue to operate outside Western insurance and regulatory systems.
In the first half of 2026, Europe purchased almost the entire output from the Yamal LNG facility in Siberia. Now that a complete ban on importing this oil into Europe will be introduced in 2027, this is part of efforts to restrict fossil fuel revenues that finance Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
In addition to the 25 existing vessels, four more LNG tankers are under construction at the 'Zvezda' shipyard, and six completed ships remain under sanctions restrictions at the Hanwha shipyard in South Korea.
European companies that violate these bans and sanctions after January 1, 2027, may face fines reaching 3.5% of their total annual global turnover.
The European Union's military forces, led by Italy, conducted a search of a sanctioned tanker, allegedly belonging to Russia's so-called 'shadow fleet,' to verify its nationality and registration details, the Italian Ministry of Defence reported on Sunday.
The vessel, named Tua Bayoh, which was sailing under the Cameroonian flag, is on the European Union sanctions list. It was intercepted in the Mediterranean Sea west of the Italian island of Pantelleria while heading from Benin to Istanbul.
Italian authorities stated that the ship's captain initially refused to cooperate with the inspection. Consequently, an Italian military team was dispatched to board the vessel via helicopter, which took off from Thaon di Revel—the flagship of the EU mission 'Operation Irini.'
The inspection, supported by a Greek naval vessel and a Polish maritime patrol aircraft, lasted about two hours and concluded without incident. Officials are currently examining the documents seized during the raid to determine the vessel's status.
The European Union has imposed sanctions on a number of vessels suspected of belonging to Russia's 'shadow fleet'—a network of ships accused of helping Moscow circumvent oil export restrictions imposed after the invasion of Ukraine.
The 'Operation Irini' mission, launched by the European Union in 2020 to ensure compliance with the UN embargo on arms supplies to Libya, subsequently expanded its mandate to include inspections of vessels suspected of operating under false or fraudulent flags.
