What is Russia's 'shadow fleet' and how does it work?
According to experts, and a briefing paper by the European Parliament, the "shadow fleet" obscures the ownership of vessels, and ensures the companies managing them are outside Russia and fly flags of convenience -- or even sometimes falsely claimed flags.
The oil tanker "Grinch" (R), suspected of belonging to the Russian's shadow fleet, is seen outside the coast of Martigues near the port of Marseille-Fos on January 25, 2026, as it's surveilled by the French Navy. (AFP photos)
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PARIS — France's interception of an oil tanker suspected of being part of Russia's "shadow fleet" draws attention to how the vessels allegedly operate in order to escape Western sanctions.
What is the 'shadow fleet'?
Russia has reportedly built up a flotilla of old oil tankers of opaque ownership to get around sanctions imposed by the European Union, United States and the G7 group of nations over Moscow's all-out invasion of Ukraine that started in 2022.
The EU lists 598 vessels that are banned from European ports and maritime services.
The US -- which seized a Russian-flagged tanker in the north Atlantic early in January -- lists 183 vessels and asserts an extraterritorial right to act against them.
How does it operate?
According to experts, and a briefing paper by the European Parliament, the "shadow fleet" obscures the ownership of vessels, and ensures the companies managing them are outside Russia and fly flags of convenience -- or even sometimes falsely claimed flags.
In addition, the vessels have been observed turning off their Automatic Identification System, to go "dark" at sea, where ship-to-ship transfers of Russian oil occur.
The Kyiv School of Economics, which runs a "Russian Oil Tracker", said in its latest report, in December, that 78 percent of the shadow-fleet tankers it monitored in November were older than 15 years.
The oil tanker "Grinch", suspected of belonging to the Russian's shadow fleet, is seen outside the coast of Martigues near the port of Marseille-Fos, France, on January 25, 2026, as it's surveilled by the French Navy.
"The top three flags used by Russian shadow-fleet vessels transporting crude oil are false/unknown flag, Sierra Leone, and Cameroon," it said.
It said management companies for the vessels were located in the United Arab Emirates, the Seychelles, Mauritius, the Marshall Islands and elsewhere.
The Kyiv School of Economics also said that "India remains the biggest Russian seaborne crude importer with 40 percent share in total Russian exports".
What is being done against it?
The United States, which is leading efforts to try to broker an end to the conflict in Ukraine, in early January stepped up its sanctions against Russia's oil industry, including the shadow fleet.
When its forces seized the tanker in the Atlantic on January 7, the White House said the vessel was "deemed stateless after flying a false flag".
Russia said on Tuesday that the US still had not released two Russian crew members from the tanker.
The European Union is considering expanding its powers to board Russia's shadow-fleet vessels, according to a document by its foreign-policy service viewed by Politico in October.
The French navy on Thursday boarded an oil tanker in the Mediterranean suspected of belonging to Russia's shadow fleet.
President Emmanuel Macron said on X the vessel, "coming from Russia, was subject to international sanctions and suspected of flying a false flag".
Britain said it provided tracking and monitoring support for the French interception.
How is Russia reacting?
When France in late September detained a Russian-linked ship called the Boracay, a vessel claiming to be flagged in Benin, Russian President Vladimir Putin condemned the move as "piracy".
After the US seizure of the tanker in early January, the Russian foreign ministry warned the move could "result in further military and political tensions", and said it was worried by "Washington's willingness to generate acute international crisis situations".