Russia has acquired a significant portion of its "shadow" fleet from Western countries, according to an investigation.

Western shipping companies are profiting by selling their unwanted old tankers to Russia, which is using them to create a so-called "shadow" fleet for transporting its oil circumventing Western sanctions.

At least 230 such vessels, many of which were slated for scrap, have been sold over the last three years of the war.

Total sales exceeded $6 billion, according to an investigation conducted by the Dutch project Follow the Money in collaboration with media outlets from nine countries and the Kyiv School of Economics (KSE), as reported by The Moscow Times.

German, British, Norwegian, Belgian, and primarily Greek ships, which were subsequently re-registered in India, Hong Kong, Vietnam, and the Seychelles, made up over a third of Russia's shadow fleet that assists Putin in continuing to sell oil and generate funds for the war against Ukraine, the investigation indicates.

Shipowners from 21 of the 35 countries that imposed sanctions against Russia contributed their vessels to the shadow fleet, earning high fees for their “old, rusty, dangerous” tankers, notes Follow the Money.

For instance, Marla Tankers, owned by Paris Kassidokostas-Latsis, a Greek film producer and heir from one of Greece's wealthiest shipping families, sold two 15-year-old tankers for $84 million in the fall of 2024.

Just six years prior, she had acquired them for only $50 million.

The new owner, Phuong Dong Petrol Transportation from Hanoi, the capital of Vietnam, registered them under the flags of Malta and Panama. By that time, it already owned at least one vessel that was involved in transporting Russian oil circumventing sanctions. Within less than a month, the two purchased tankers joined it, heading to Ust-Luga on the Baltic Sea, where each took on a cargo of oil valued at approximately $50 million.

After the European Union imposed an embargo on the import of Russian oil and petroleum products at the end of 2022 and, together with other Western countries, set a price cap of $60 per barrel, the prices for old tankers that could be used to bypass sanctions skyrocketed, writes The Guardian.

A specialist analyst from Lloyd's List explained to investigators:

“Many European shipowners had old tankers that they believed could not fetch a good price. But suddenly their value doubled, and they rushed to sell them.”

Shipowners have helped Russia create a shadow fleet of over 600 tankers, which KSE estimates transports about 70% of its oil.

The Belgian company CMB.Tech sold five tankers that began transporting Russian oil in 2022 – early 2023, for $135 million, or about $27 million per vessel. This roughly corresponds to the average price at which tankers designated for scrap, as identified by Follow the Money, were transferred to the shadow fleet.

“We don’t know what happens to the ships after the sale, and knowing that is not part of our obligations,” said CMB.Tech representative Katrien Henin. “To whom the buyer resells the vessel, how they operate it – legally or illegally – is not within our competence.”

According to investigators’ estimates, Greek shipowners sold the most tankers that subsequently transported Russian oil – 127; British companies sold 22 vessels, German companies sold 11, and Norwegian firms sold eight.

Background. As reported, China and India ceased purchasing Russian oil following sanctions against Russia's shadow fleet. In place of Russian supplies, these Asian countries are now sourcing oil from Kazakhstan.