Ukrainian intelligence has identified 238 vessels of the Russian shadow fleet used to circumvent Western sanctions.

The Defense Intelligence’s press service reported on this.

According to the DIU, in 2023, Russia received $188 billion from oil exports, and its ally Iran received almost $53 billion.

“Revenues from oil sales provide authoritarian actors with resources to implement nuclear programs, develop modern drones and missiles, provide constant financial and material support for the terrorist activities of their regional proxies, and pay for the services of transnational crime networks,” intelligence officials report.

The shadow fleet includes more than a thousand old and poorly maintained vessels without proper insurance and with non-transparent ownership structures.

These vessels, based in “friendly” jurisdictions and flying “convenient” flags, have a deadweight of more than 100 million tons, about 17% of the global oil tanker fleet.

These tankers use deceptive tactics to conceal the origin of their cargo, creating risks of environmental disasters and financial losses for coastal countries. Since February 2022, more than 50 incidents involving these vessels have been reported from the Danish Straits to Malaysia.

It is reported that since February 2022, more than 50 incidents involving shadow tankers have already been recorded from the Danish Straits to Malaysia.

The list of shadow fleet vessels is published on the War & Sanctions portal of the Defence Intelligence.

On November 26, Militarnyi reported that the UK government had imposed sanctions against thirty ships of the Russian Federation’s “shadow fleet.”

At the time, the government emphasized that this step would further limit the Kremlin’s ability to finance the war in Ukraine and malicious activities all around the world.

In addition, this package of sanctions will also increase the total number of oil tankers sanctioned by the UK to 73 – more than any other country.