The shadow fleet found protection: To seize Russian oil The EU is becoming dangerous

The tankers of the shadow fleet, which carry the lion's share of Russian oil, are changing flags and have recently increasingly become Russian. Thus, Western countries are being shown that Russia is ready to protect ships, and detentions of tankers are becoming dangerous for EU countries.

More and more tankers of the shadow fleet are moving under the Russian flag. This is written by the specialized edition of Lloyd's List. They estimated that the number of vessels in the Russian register has increased by 40% since 2022.

"The transition to the Russian flag is taking place against the background of increased pressure The EU is looking at ship registers and the desire to delay the court," the newspaper writes.

Most of the vessels of the shadow fleet, as the tankers for the transportation of Russian oil with unknown owners are called, sail under a variety of flags and often change them after the imposition of sanctions.

"Russia's readiness to directly provide the flag to vessels operating in sanctioned trade routes indicates the constant evolution of a shadow fleet with direct control and protection from Moscow," writes Lloyd's List.

Shadow fleet tankers have been detained twice this year — off the coasts of Estonia and France. But later they were forced to release, since even the imposed sanctions are not a reason for arrest. Another attempt by the Estonian military failed when two Russian fighter jets appeared in the sky. Also in Germany, proceedings are continuing around the Eventin tanker, whose engine broke down, the vessel was taken to the territorial waters of Germany, where it was arrested, and now they are trying to confiscate it along with the oil cargo.

The problem is that the tankers of the shadow fleet have no official relation to Russia, since both the vessels themselves and their owners are registered outside the country. Mostly in the Middle East or Asia. In fairness, it should be said that after the imposition of sanctions, many vessels were transferred to the Russian flag by Russia's largest shipowner, Sovcomflot. Before that, it was simply profitable for the company to fly false flags due to low taxes.

As EADaily reported with reference to the Swedish Navy, the Russian Fleet guards tankers that transport oil. According to them, armed guards have appeared on the ships, and Russian military ships are stationed in special zones of the Gulf of Finland, the Baltic and North Seas to monitor shipping.