Western shipowners ‘make $6bn from selling tankers into shadow fleet’

More than 200 former Western oil tankers are now part of Russia's so-called "shadow fleet," through which Moscow evades economic sanctions. The ship owners have earned billions of euros from the sales, according to an international press investigation involving several media trusts.

European and American shipowners sold at least 230 tankers to Russian counterparties, which are now being used as a shadow fleet to bypass European and US sanctions. This is reported by The Guardian, citing an investigation conducted by a consortium of European media led by the Dutch newspaper Follow the Money.

Western shipping companies have apparently delivered more than 200 tankers for the so-called Russian shadow fleet since the start of the Ukraine war. The owners made billions in profits from the sale of the ships. German shipowners also benefited from this.

With the shadow fleet, Russia circumvents sanctions against Russian oil trade.

More than 200 former Western tankers now sail in the Russian shadow fleet. The owners of the ships earned billions from the sale. German shipowners also profited from this, as an international research project shows.

Probe reveals more than $6bn in shadow fleet deals

European and American shipowners have pocketed at least $6.3bn from selling hundreds of ageing tankers on to shell companies, from where they make their way into the shadow fleet, a new probe carried out by the Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP) and investigative journalists from Follow the Money has revealed. The report tracks …