Russian Shadow Fleet Tanker Crosses Baltic Using Fraudulent Registration

A Russian shadow fleet tanker under international sanctions sailed through the Baltic Sea and into Russian territorial waters using fraudulent registration, according to analysts tracking maritime violations.

Andrii Klymenko, Head of the Black Sea and Baltic Strategic Research Monitoring Group, reported the vessel’s June 26 entry into Russian waters in a Facebook post.

The vessel in question is ‘SIERRA’, a crude oil tanker (IMO: 9522324) with a capacity of 100,000 tons. Formerly named ‘Suvorovsky Prospect’, it was owned by the Russian state-controlled shipping company Sovcomflot until October 1, 2024.

On June 16, 2025, the Russian multi-role corvette ‘Boykiy’ (hull number 532) met the oil tanker in the Mediterranean Sea and escorted it to the North Sea.

Now operating under the flag of landlocked Malawi, the tanker was recently re-registered by a company based in Dubai. Its sanctioned status includes listings by:

• the United States (October 17, 2024),
• the European Union (December 17, 2024), and
• Canada (February 21, 2025).

Such re-flagging under landlocked states is not uncommon. Countries like Bolivia, Mongolia, and Moldova, despite lacking maritime borders, offer open ship registries that have been used for questionable vessel operations.

A recent investigation by Lloyd’s List revealed that Malawi’s ship registry was fraudulently used. The Malawian government confirmed that the registry was unauthorized. According to Lloyd’s List, the number of vessels using Malawi’s false flag has risen to nearly 300 — an increase of 170% over two years. At least four sanctioned tankers are now registered under this flag.

Under Article 110 of the 1982 United Nations’ Law of the Sea Convention, a warship has the right to inspect vessels without nationality on the high seas. However, as Klymenko notes, the Baltic Sea does not include high seas areas. Maritime zones there are either territorial waters, contiguous zones, or exclusive economic zones (EEZs).

In maritime law, the contiguous zone extends 24 nautical miles from a state’s coastline and allows for enforcement of customs, immigration, or environmental laws. The EEZ stretches up to 200 nautical miles and grants exclusive rights for resource use.

Klymenko criticized the Baltic states and their allies for lacking the political will to enforce maritime law against such violations — especially given the presence of NATO’s Baltic Sentinel, launched in early 2025.

Leonid Vashchenko, a member of the Center for International Maritime Security (CIMSEC), echoed concerns about enforcement. He noted the financial and legal burdens associated with seizing such vessels.

“It’s not profitable,” Vashchenko said. “You’re stuck with a problematic ship, legal proceedings over the cargo and ownership drag on for years, and disposal or resale becomes complicated.”

Still, he added, the high profits from illicit oil transport meant the practice remained economically viable for shipowners — even if they lost individual vessels.

The term ‘shadow fleet’ generally refers to a network of tankers that Russia uses to evade Western sanctions imposed in response to its full-scale invasion of Ukraine.