Almost every third ship in the so-called "shadow fleet" - ships that transport oil in defiance of international sanctions - is not flying its true national flag. This amounts to more than 500 tankers, according to an international study reported by German public broadcaster ARD.
A ship's flag indicates which country the vessel is registered in and under whose jurisdiction it falls. This flag provides broad rights in international shipping, including peaceful passage on the high seas and in foreign territorial waters. If the ship does not have the correct national flag, authorities in other countries can search it and prevent it from continuing its journey.
The Russian "shadow fleet" in particular is now in the spotlight, but countries such as Iran and Venezuela, which are also subject to international sanctions, also maintain shadow fleets.
Billions for Putin
The term "shadow fleet" refers to tankers used by countries to circumvent international oil embargoes and sanctions. Russia has been able to use these mostly old and dilapidated tankers to transport a significant portion of its crude oil to the world market. Every month, billions of dollars flow into Putin's coffers, filling the country's budget, ARD reports.
Security experts see these outdated tankers as a threat, as there are suspicions that they are used for sabotage and espionage. In recent months, there have been several incidents in the Baltic Sea with damaged cables on the bottom, specifically by ships of the "shadow fleet".
So far, countries in the North and Baltic Seas have mainly monitored or, if necessary, escorted Russian tankers from the "shadow fleet". Only in very rare cases have police or naval units from Western countries boarded the ships or denied them passage, writes ARD.
For several months, some countries have seemed more willing to act: in recent weeks, the US and France have detained tankers from the "shadow fleet", and according to information from NDR, WDR and "Süddeutsche Zeitung" (ZT), in mid-January the German federal police banned the tanker "Tavian" from passing through German territorial waters. As a result, the ship interrupted its planned journey to a Russian oil port city near St. Petersburg and left the Baltic Sea without completing its mission. In all these cases, the authorities have referred to the fact that the ships in question were not sailing under the real national flag.
Expired or invalid flags
However, it is clear that many more ships could be detained, since the lack of a correct national flag or one at all for tankers in the "shadow fleet" is common. This is shown by an analysis of data on nearly 1,400 ships, which experts classify as part of the global "shadow fleet".
For the purposes of the international study, the flag status of each ship was compared with the database of the United Nations International Maritime Organization and at the same time information was requested from the countries whose flags were used. In some cases, these inquiries led to a re-inspection of the ships in question, and it turned out that many of them should have their flags revoked or that their validity had already expired. This is the case, for example, with the Asian island nation of Palau.
More than 500 ships violate the rules
The study shows that out of nearly 1,400 ships of the "shadow fleet" studied, more than 500 sail under an invalid flag. Currently, various countries bordering the Baltic and North Seas are developing a plan for joint action against the ships of the Russian "shadow fleet". The document stipulates that ships with an invalid national flag will not be allowed to pass at all.
Third countries can board such ships if there are reasonable suspicions of irregularities, as well as take measures to prevent them from continuing their journey.
Due to their geographical proximity to important Russian oil ports near St. Petersburg and Murmansk, EU waters are particularly affected by the activities of the "shadow fleet". In the last three months alone, more than 60 oil tankers without a flag or with an invalid flag have passed through EU waters.
Possible countermeasures from Russia?
Security experts in Europe have long called for stricter action against the ships of the "shadow fleet", but many Western countries fear possible Russian countermeasures, ARD reports, citing sources in German security authorities.
They claim that many tankers of the Russian "shadow fleet" are already sailing with armed guards from teams of Russian mercenary companies. Therefore, law enforcement agencies boarding such a ship must be prepared for potential armed resistance. In some cases, tankers of the "shadow fleet" are even guarded by Russian warships, ARD also reports.
Authors: Antonius Kempmann ARD | Benedikt Strunz ARD | Manuel Bewarder ARD