Seven Shadow Fleet Tankers Spoof AIS to Hide Novorossiysk Voyages

At a Glance

• Seven sanctioned Russian shadow fleet tankers manipulated AIS over the past 90 days to falsely claim they were drifting near the Bosphorus entrance.
• Windward identified the tankers sailing for Novorossiysk to load oil, hugging the Black Sea coastline to try to avoid Ukrainian drone attacks.
• Windward used satellite imagery to locate the tankers.
• The spoofing began shortly after the tankers transited the Bosphorus, just outside Turkey’s territorial waters.
• Periods of GNSS manipulation lasted around 2-3 weeks, the time it took to sail to Novorossiysk, load, and return.

Sanctioned Tankers Fake Their Positions Near the Bosphorus

A cluster of seven sanctioned Russian tankers were found to have routinely and deliberately manipulated AIS over the past 90 days to falsely claim they were drifting off the Black Sea close to the Bosphorus entrance.

The tankers were instead identified by Windward clandestinely sailing for the Russian oil terminal of Novorossiysk to load oil, hugging the Black Sea coastline to try and avoid Ukrainian drone attacks.

Satellite Imagery Exposes the Tankers Sailing to Novorossiysk

Windward used satellite imagery to locate the tankers.

At the same time, the tankers manipulated their AIS, a process known as spoofing. They began the practice shortly after transiting the Bosporus to enter the Black Sea just outside Turkey’s territorial waters but within the country’s exclusive economic zone. The spoofing left tell-tale uneven tracks.

Windward Identifies Seven Sanctioned Shadow Fleet Tankers

The vessels identified were a Sierra Leone-flagged Suezmax tanker, a Russia-flagged Aframax, a Russia-flagged Aframax tanker, an Equatorial Guinea-flagged Suezmax, an Equatorial Guinea-flagged Aframax, a Comoros-flagged Suezmax, and a Russia-flagged Aframax tanker.

All are sanctioned, shadow fleet vessels. Periods of GNSS manipulation lasted around 2-3 weeks, the duration for tankers to sail to Novorossiysk, load, and return.

While many vessels are switching off their AIS for legitimate safety and security reasons in the Black Sea, Russian shadow fleet tankers are using deceptive shipping practices, including GNSS manipulation, to avoid targeting by Ukrainian drones.

Russian Attacks Imperil Freedom of Navigation Across the Black Sea

Maritime safety and security remain perilous amid escalating Russian attacks on cargo vessels using a special maritime corridor to load grain from Ukrainian ports, including at Odesa and the Danube River.

The hostility and aggression have imperiled freedom of navigation for commercial shipping across the Azov and the Black Sea. Ukraine told the International Maritime Organization on October 2 that Russia carried out 25 serious attacks between June 6 and September 23, involving 22 commercial ships and three search and rescue tugs and causing 26 seafarer deaths.

A further seven cargo ships were damaged in attacks attributed to Russia off Bulgaria and Romania just outside their territorial waters over October. Ukraine appears to have paused drone strikes on tankers since July, mainly focusing on land targets including refineries. Unconfirmed reports of Ukraine’s last attack on a ship were in early October, at Sochi.

Written by Michelle Wiese Bockmann, Windward Senior Maritime Intelligence Analyst