‘Shadow fleet’ ships moving sanctioned oil reflagged to Russia at rising rate

Lloyd's List analysis suggests 40 suspicious vessels joined Russian registry last year, with 17 reflagged last month

Forty ships accused of belonging to a large shadow fleet" moving sanctioned oil for Venezuela and others were reflagged to Russia last year in an apparent attempt to gain Kremlin protection from American seizure.

Analysis by the shipping intelligence publication Lloyd's List suggests that of those, at least 17 suspicious vessels joined the Russian registry over the past month, compared with 15 ships in the previous five months of 2025.