Detention, boarding, inspections – NATO states are increasingly starting with tankers suspected of belonging to the Russian shadow fleet. The Kremlin was trapped. due to the fact that on the 1 hand, he doesn't want to admit openly to ships smuggling oil, and on the other, he says he'll defend them. However, he knows that hard action can lead to disaster.
You could say – the jokes are over. Since December, the Swiss watch's regular media reports further detentions of ships suspected of belonging to the so-called. Shadow fleets. Let us remind you – this word includes an armada of tankers which export oil sanctioned from Russia. They are usually old and defiled, in addition to unclear legal status. Sometimes, for confusion of leads they flow with the AIS recognition strategy disabled, little frequently – with the flag lowered.
‘Adler’, ‘Fitburg’, ‘Grinch’ and others
And yes, at the end of last year, the customs and coast defender of Sweden boarded the Russian vessel Adler. authoritative reason: the method condition of the unit and the resulting environmental hazard. Shortly after, Finns decided to make a akin move, which disabled the tanker “Fitburg”, flying the flag of Saint Vincent and Grenadines. The origin here was suspicion of sabotage. The unit most likely broke the telecommunications cable between Finland and Estonia. Both actions took place within territorial waters, so the services could easy explain themselves. The more bravado movement was decided by the Americans, who stopped 4 tankers trying to export oil from Venezuela in respective January days apart. The interceptions took place in the global waters of the Caribbean and the Atlantic, and all units were linked to Russia 1 way or another. The Russians themselves rapidly started talking about the act of piracy. any experts besides had doubts. They pointed out that on board a ship that is in the open sea, the military and the services of another state have the right to enter only in circumstantial situations – for example erstwhile this is suspected of piracy. However, there were besides different interpretations. In a conversation with Vot channel Yes lawyer Tomasz Nadratowski explained that the basis for conducting this kind of operation may become a reasonable suspicion that the ship was not registered in any country.
But that is not the end. Even in January, in the Mediterranean, the French services with the aid of the British captured the tanker "Grinch", registered in the Chambers. The unit was diverted to the port of Marseille and disabled there. At the same time, the French informed that they thought the ship could be flying a false flag. In another words, the owners deliberately obliterated the traces of its affiliation to facilitate their criminal activities. In the beginning of the year Germans decided to turn back the “Arcusat” tanker flowing through their waters. The ship intended to scope 1 of the Russian ports in the Gulf of Finland. However, it seemed unusual to the German services that erstwhile over its deck the flag of Cameroon was flying, and another time – Tanzania. As a result, the tanker was forced to leave the Baltic Sea.
Exercises in Operation Baltic Sentry.
The West sharpens the course
All these events show that the fight against the Russian shadow fleet has entered a completely fresh stage. The West stopped simply appealing and monitoring. He showed that he was able to scope out for a force argument – even if in any cases it would be legally risky. This maneuver put Russia in an awkward position. On the 1 hand, the Kremlin does not want to admit to ships smuggling oil, on the other, it has to do something to defend it. It is simply a substance of securing income, from which even the war in Ukraine is financed. So the Russians are increasingly choosing to registry tankers at home. This happened, for example, with the "Bella 1" ship, which, during an American Atlantic chase, suddenly... appeared in Russian records and raised the flag there.
The Russians are besides reaching for the arguments of a heavier caliber. In consequence to actions taken by the West, MFA spokesperson Maria Zacharowa, and then advisor to Putin and erstwhile FSB chief Nikolai Patruszew announced that Russia is ready to "protect shipping safety on key maritime routes". However, so far, no concrete action has followed. True, the Russian North Fleet ships appeared close during this detention of "Belli 1", only that they yet did not decide to face the Americans. The Kremlin is aware that an open defence of the shadow fleet could lead to escalation, the effects of which would likely prove to be lamented for them. However, Russians should not be underestimated. The sharper attitude of the West towards the shadow fleet carries the hazard of further responses hybrid effects. Even more so, as far as the oil trade is concerned, the situation is becoming little favourable for the Russians...
Difficult Times for the Kremlin
More than 600 oil tankers connected to Russia are already listed on the EU sanction list. They cannot, for example, call European ports. All of this translates into circumstantial numbers. According to the calculations of the global Energy Agency, in November 2025, as compared to the same period of the erstwhile year, Kremlin's income from the oil trade decreased by over $3.5 billion. Meanwhile, the European Union is already preparing the 20th package of sanctions against Russia. It is intended to contain further restrictions on the shadow fleet – even though the ban on insuring ships belonging to it. And if we add to this the news announced in fresh days that the acquisition of Russian oil by US has decided to quit India, it is easy to conclude that the Kremlin has experienced truly hard times.
Fighting a fleet of shadows sometimes resembles playing cat and mouse. But it's just appearances. due to the fact that although we are talking about an highly hard challenge, it seems that it is beginning to have real effects.
