The government of Comoros has begun a clean-out of its international flag registry which has been central to sanctions-circumventing dark fleet tankers shipping Russian, Iranian and Venezuelan oil. There are now 62 tankers, three liquefied petroleum gas carriers and one tug declared as falsely flying the Comoros flag, according to the EU’s Equasis database. Ships...
Greek-owned tankers shipped 16% of all Russian crude over August, with the EU and UK introduction of a lower price cap this month now sidelining any further involvement. Greek shipowners carried 27% of Russian crude in June, 20% in July, and 16% in August. The analysis is based on Windward data, compiled using figures from...
Greek Tankers Cut Russian Crude Liftings as Lower EU and UK Price Cap Bites
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Greek-owned tankers shipped 16% of all Russian crude over August, with the EU and UK introduction of a lower price cap this month now sidelining any further involvement.
Greece-owned vessels carried up to 40% of Russian crude in some months during 2023 and 2024, when Urals, the country’s largest export grade, was priced below the $60/bbl cap.
Over the past three months Greek shipowners have reduced exposure to Russian crude, even as the average price of Urals crude remained below the G7’s $60/bbl cap.
Driving the exit are intensifying and far-reaching sanctions imposed on Russia by the EU and UK over May, June and July. In July both lowered the crude price cap to $47.80/bbl from September 2.
The cap was set at $60/bbl when it was introduced in December 2022. The U.S. has not lowered the cap, adding to sanctions enforcement uncertainty and complexity.
The new cap is 15% below the global price of Urals, as assessed by price reporting agencies.
Under the price cap Western marine service providers including shipowners, charterers, insurers and banks can only ship oil to third countries if they have proof the cargo was sold below the cap. The cap’s aim was to keep oil flowing from Russia but reduce income to the Kremlin to fund the war on Ukraine. Urals discount to dated Brent has extended to around $11/bbl as the price cap fell.
Western-sanctioned tankers shipped just over half of all Russian crude over August, level with the prior month.
Ports in northeast China and India allowed vessels to discharge cargoes at ports, despite their sanctioned status. None were tracked discharging at Turkey, a NATO ally.
The analysis was undertaken before the UK government sanctioned a further 70 ships on September 12, bringing the total number of vessels listed by the country to more than 500.
Russia Turns to Middle East and Asian Owners to Replace Dark Fleet
Greece-owned tonnage continued to legally ship refined products including diesel and gasoline, which has remained below the $100/bbl price cap since at least December 2023.
Thirty-two percent of refined products were shipped on Greece-owned tankers to 15 countries worldwide, from Morocco, to Libya, Brazil and Uruguay. Eight percent of products were shipped on sanctioned tankers.
With most of its dark fleet now sanctioned, Russian oil traders are chartering vessels from alternative countries to ship crude.
Tankers owned by companies in Kuwait, UAE, Bangladesh and Indonesia were seen lifting cargoes last month, continuing a trend observed over the prior three months.
UK and EU sanctioned tankers are seen calling at India and China, the biggest destination of Russia crude. None were tracked discharging at Turkey, a NATO ally.
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Comoros Dark Fleet Purge Sees More Than 60 Tankers Listed as False Flagged
The government of Comoros has begun a clean-out of its international flag registry which has been central to sanctions-circumventing dark fleet tankers shipping Russian, Iranian and Venezuelan oil. There are now 62 tankers, three liquefied petroleum gas carriers and one tug declared as falsely flying the Comoros flag, according to the EU’s Equasis database. Ships...
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Sanctions Are Never Simple Sanctions lists, from OFAC, the EU, the UK, or the UN, are only the starting point. For compliance teams, the real complexity begins with what isn’t written on the lists. The 50% Rule is one of the most important and challenging of these secondary rules. In maritime trade, opaque ownership chains,...
Sanctioned tankers lifted 36% of all oil shipped from Russia in July, underscoring the sustained pressure Western regulators have placed on the dark fleet over most of 2025. Alongside volumes loaded on sanctioned tankers, Windward analysis of monthly tanker activity shows that 30% of Russia-origin crude and refined products were shipped on Greek-owned vessels. These...
New GPS Jamming Hotspot Seen at Third Russian Oil Export Port
Windward has detected extensive GPS jamming in a new location at the eastern Russian port of Nakhodka, leading to a 30% rise in deliberate interference to ships’ navigation signals across the region over August. Between August 5-18 the Automatic Identification Signals (AIS) of 112 ships were transmitted on land at Nadhodkta port, the first time...
