Tankers Newly Reflagged to Vanuatu Show Not All Sanctions Are Equal

Not all sanctions are equal.

There’s no better contemporaneous example than EU-sanctioned, Russia-trading Aframax tanker Torex (IMO 9257814), which sailed through the English Channel on Thursday (July 3), heading to northern European waters to load at Russia’s Baltic ports.

The 22-year-old ‘dark fleet’ ship has learned to play the game of maritime regulatory arbitrage with aplomb.

Torex reflagged to the Pacific island of Vanuatu on June 16, according to Windward data, after being de-registered by Barbados following its EU listing on May 21. This marks its fifth flag change in two years.

Dark fleet business is new to Vanuatu’s flag registry, operated by US-based Vanuatu Logistics & Administrative Services Limited (a private company managing the registry on behalf of the Pacific nation).

While many flag registries won’t touch Western-sanctioned ships, Vanuatu has proven to be a rare exception.

Caption: EU-sanctioned Torex reflagged to Vanuatu, its fifth flag in two years, on June 16 according to Windward data

A New Haven for Sanctioned Ships

Windward records show Torex is one of four Russia-trading tankers that flagged to Vanuatu in the past two weeks after being sanctioned by either the EU or UK in late May. The others are Yodan (IMO 9304356), Lieto (IMO 9389679), and Nautilus (IMO 9434890).

Why is a US-based company flagging an EU- or UK-sanctioned ship? Because, to paraphrase, the registry only complies with UN and US sanctions and reviews whether to flag ships sanctioned by other countries on a case-by-case basis.

And therein lies the dilemma for EU and UK governments, as the US distances itself from the Ukraine-Russia war. There’s no longer US support to push back against the increasingly unsafe and unseaworthy fleet of aging ships in their waters, shipping oil for Moscow.

Windward records show all four tankers—whose insurance and classification status are unknown—regularly ship Russian crude to India, the second-largest buyer of Russian oil after China. India has not allowed US-sanctioned ships to call at its ports, but continues to accept those sanctioned by the EU and UK.

Flags of Convenience and Escorted Voyages

Torex’s single-ship, Seychelles-domiciled registered owner has changed technical management several times since 2023, moving between single-ship companies in Moldova and Azerbaijan. It has also spent extended periods operating in the dark over the past six months.

Russia has already demonstrated its willingness to use naval assets to escort unflagged or falsely flagged tankers through the English Channel to safeguard oil cargoes. Vanuatu is now offering a flag when others won’t—adding to the growing divide in global sanctions enforcement.