591 Ships and $100 Billion: Inside Russia’s ‘Shadow Fleet’

More than 591 vessels and an estimated $100 billion in oil revenue are at the heart of Russia’s expanding “shadow fleet,” a network designed to bypass international sanctions and keep war funds flowing for the conflict in Ukraine. Researchers at the Robert Lansing Institute report that Moscow is increasingly registering its tankers in African nations like Cameroon and the Comoros, exploiting weak verification systems in certain shipping registries to conceal true vessel ownership.

This registration pattern allows sanctioned ships to continue operating within global shipping networks, creating legal loopholes that complicate international enforcement efforts. The researchers note that some African registries have become fertile ground for what is termed “fake registration,” where vessels claim to be registered with non-existent or poorly regulated authorities, according to the Eurasia Review.

Scale and Methods of Evasion

Data from the Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air estimates that Russia’s maritime fleet transported roughly half of all Russian seaborne oil during March. This network includes hundreds of ships moving millions of barrels daily, generating massive revenues. The fleet employs multiple evasion tactics, including raising “flags of convenience” and frequently changing vessel registrations between different countries—a practice known as “flag hopping”—to confuse tracking efforts and dodge sanctions.

The Lansing Institute asserts that more than half of all global fake registration cases are linked to African nations, with similar patterns observed in Angola, Benin, Mozambique, Mali, Guinea, and others, reflecting the expanding scope of the phenomenon. The report indicates this operational model has evolved from a temporary fix into a more stable logistical structure within the global maritime system, using national legal frameworks to undermine the effectiveness of international sanctions.

Data from a maritime shipping monitoring platform revealed that some tankers placed on European and U.S. sanctions lists continued operating after changing their flags. This includes instances where ships re-registered under different African flags within short periods.

Pressure on African Registries

International reports indicate that several African countries are facing mounting pressure due to the exploitation of their maritime registries. The tonnage of ships registered in nations such as Benin, the Comoros, Sierra Leone, and Gambia has surged significantly. According to the Institute for Security Studies, Cameroon’s ship registry saw an increase exceeding 126% in a single year. Western nations have placed more than 100 vessels flying the Comoros flag on sanctions lists linked to Russian oil transport.

Some African states, including Malawi, have called for international action against the fraudulent use of their registries, citing incidents of forged official documents and government stamps used to push through illegal registration processes. The International Maritime Organization has previously reported that certain flags used by specific vessels, including cases linked to Eswatini, are not based on recognized official registries, highlighting the complexity and breadth of the problem.

Experts view Russia’s shadow fleet as an entrenched component of a complex global logistics infrastructure, one that capitalizes on regulatory gaps in certain countries. This makes efforts to counter sanctions increasingly difficult and intricate on the international stage.