Helping Russia bypass sanctions: GUR publishes data on shadow fleet captains

Helping Russia bypass sanctions: GUR published data on captains of the shadow fleet Dmitry Usik

New information about the Russian shadow tanker fleet has appeared on the War & Sanctions portal of the Main Intelligence Directorate of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine. The data on 57 captains and 45 sea vessels has been published.

This will help protect the maritime industry from cooperation with the aggressor, reports 24 Channel with reference to the Main Intelligence Directorate.

What is known about the identification of captains and vessels of the shadow fleet

Thus, the published list, among other things, included vessels that transported sanctioned Russian oil from the Arctic and serviced the Sakhalin-1, Sakhalin-2, Sakhalin-3, Prirazlomnoye, and Novy Port projects.

In total, the portal has already published data on 89 captains, some of whom are under sanctions. After all, it is the captains who are in charge of the vessel and have complete power over it.

They have information about the owners of shadow tankers and their technical condition, about the vessel's cargo and its value. Contrary to international rules, industry standards, and established sanctions restrictions, it is these captains who resort to deceptive and high-risk practices, the GUR points out.

In particular, such captains connect and manipulate the AIS or LRIT system, use spoofing, enter false information into route logs, and carry out STS transmissions.

Thus, the actions of captains help Russians circumvent sanctions on energy resources and create a threat of environmental disaster for almost every country in the world, including those who consider Russia their partner.

“They can refuse to commit illegal actions, but they choose to be complicit. The maritime industry as a whole and crewing companies in particular can stop this. Captains who agreed to command a shadow the Russian fleet should lose the opportunity to work on ships in the future, and sanctions should be applied to crewing companies that facilitate their employment,” the GUR notes.