Russia has a Shadow Fleet of Oil Tankers to Break Western Sanctions

• According to the Financial Times, Russia has an “shadow fleet” that carries oil tankers in order to circumvent western sanctions.
• According to the FT, shipping brokers and analysts believe that Moscow added more than 100 ships to its fleet.
• After Poland wanted it at $30, the EU agreed to a $60/barrel price cap on Russian oil.

According to the Financial Times, Russia has created a “shadow fleet” consisting of more than 100 oil tankers as a way to break the sanctions imposed by western countries following Vladimir Putin’s invasion in Ukraine.

Analysts and shipping brokers told the newspaperThey said that Moscow has quietly acquired more tankers this past year.

“We’ve had quite a few sales to unnamed buyers over the last months and a couple of weeks after the sale many these tankers pop-up in Russia to receive their first load of crude oil,” Craig Kennedy, a Russian expert at Harvard’s Davis Center, told The FT. 

Rystad, an energy consulting company, stated that Russia acquired another 103 tanks to add to its fleet this past year through purchases and reallocations of ships servicing Venezuela and Iran.

Russia built what the industry called the “shadow force” to counter new Sanctions.

The EU banned the use of this product. Russia’s seaborne importsThe deal to cap Russian crude at $60 per barrel was reached and goes into effect Monday. after Poland tried to have it set at just $30. The cap is designed to allow India and China to purchase the oil, but it also stops Moscow from making large profits.

The Kremlin, however, has stated that it will not sell oil to countries that enforce the cap. This could strengthen its relationships with countries more supportive of Putin, including India. ChinaTurkey, and.

Anoop Singh, head, tanker research at Braemar, stated to the Financial Times that the new tankers, purchased anonymously, are typically 12 to 15 years old. He said that they would be scrapped within the next few years. “These buyers are unfamiliar to us, long-standing brokers. He said that he was confident that most of these vessels were destined for Russia.

According to the report, analysts expect a shortfall because Russia still requires more tankers to maintain its exports. Singh stated that Braemer anticipates that exports will fall between 700,000 to 1.5 million barrels per hour, while Rystad projects 200,000 barrels.

Viktor Kurilov from Rystad, a Rystad analyst, told the newspaper: “Russia requires more than 240 tankers in order to keep its current exported flows flowing.”

Insider asked for comment from the Kremlin spokesperson, but he didn’t respond immediately.