Out on the western Baltic, a coastguard officer radios a nearby, sanctioned oil tanker. 'Swedish Coastguard calling… Do you consent to answer a few questions for us? Over.' Through heavy static, barely audible answers crackle over from a crew member, who gradually lists the ship's insurance details, flag state and last port of call – Suez, Egypt. 'I think this ship will go up to Russia and get oil,' says Swedish investigator, Jonatan Tholin.
This is the front line of Europe's uneasy standoff with Russia's so-called 'shadow fleet'; a term that commonly refers to hundreds of tankers used to bypass a price cap on Russian oil exports. After the Kremlin launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine, many Western countries imposed sanctions on Russian energy, which Moscow is accused of dodging by shipping oil on aged tankers often with obscure ownership or insurance.
Some 'shadow' ships are even suspected of undersea sabotage, illicit drone launches or 'spoofing' their location data. Out on the waves, where freedom of navigation is a golden rule, the ability and appetite of coastal countries to intervene is limited, even though the risk they face is escalating. As the BBC has learned, a growing network of 'shadow' ships are sailing without a valid national flag, which can render vessels stateless and without proper insurance.
That is a troubling trend, given many are practically 'floating rust buckets,' says senior maritime intelligence analyst at Windward AI, Michelle Wiese Bockmann. Driven by record sanctions and tighter enforcement, the number of falsely flagged ships globally has more than doubled this year to over 450, most of them tankers, according to the International Maritime Organization (IMO) database.
The head of Estonia's navy, Commodore Ivo Värk, relates seeing dozens of passing vessels this year where they’d normally see just one or two. This uptick signals a brazen approach by vessels openly traversing maritime routes tied to Russian oil terminals.
Notably, the tanker Unity—previously known as Ocean Explorer—has been under scrutiny for its checkered history involving sanctions related to North Korea. Shadow vessels like Unity, often cycling through various names and flags to obscure their ownership, represent a significant challenge as Europe contends with the ongoing ramifications of its energy sanctions against Russia. While governments assess their response capabilities, they must balance international maritime laws against the risk of escalating tensions with Russia, leaving many officials cautious about direct engagements.
This is the front line of Europe's uneasy standoff with Russia's so-called 'shadow fleet'; a term that commonly refers to hundreds of tankers used to bypass a price cap on Russian oil exports. After the Kremlin launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine, many Western countries imposed sanctions on Russian energy, which Moscow is accused of dodging by shipping oil on aged tankers often with obscure ownership or insurance.
Some 'shadow' ships are even suspected of undersea sabotage, illicit drone launches or 'spoofing' their location data. Out on the waves, where freedom of navigation is a golden rule, the ability and appetite of coastal countries to intervene is limited, even though the risk they face is escalating. As the BBC has learned, a growing network of 'shadow' ships are sailing without a valid national flag, which can render vessels stateless and without proper insurance.
That is a troubling trend, given many are practically 'floating rust buckets,' says senior maritime intelligence analyst at Windward AI, Michelle Wiese Bockmann. Driven by record sanctions and tighter enforcement, the number of falsely flagged ships globally has more than doubled this year to over 450, most of them tankers, according to the International Maritime Organization (IMO) database.
The head of Estonia's navy, Commodore Ivo Värk, relates seeing dozens of passing vessels this year where they’d normally see just one or two. This uptick signals a brazen approach by vessels openly traversing maritime routes tied to Russian oil terminals.
Notably, the tanker Unity—previously known as Ocean Explorer—has been under scrutiny for its checkered history involving sanctions related to North Korea. Shadow vessels like Unity, often cycling through various names and flags to obscure their ownership, represent a significant challenge as Europe contends with the ongoing ramifications of its energy sanctions against Russia. While governments assess their response capabilities, they must balance international maritime laws against the risk of escalating tensions with Russia, leaving many officials cautious about direct engagements.
