A LIBERIA-flagged tanker sanctioned by the US on December 1 is now loitering in international waters off Malta, after becoming the first ship from the so-called dark fleet* of vessels shipping Russian oil to be targeted by regulators.

HS Atlantica (IMO: 9322839) was one of three tankers designated by the Office of Foreign Assets Control on Friday for using services from a US marine provider. The other two were owned by Russian state-owned shipowner Sovcomflot.

Ofac previously sanctioned five tankers in two announcements since October 12 for breaching the oil price cap on Russian crude and petroleum products. 

Four were owned by Sovcomflot and flagged in Liberia, while the fifth was Turkish-owned and flagged in the Marshall Islands.

The $60 a barrel cap, which prevents Western marine service providers from shipping Russian oil over that price to third countries, was imposed a year ago today on crude, followed by a $100 per barrel cap on refined products on February 5.

HS Atlantica is part of a fleet of some 200 to 220 elderly tankers that are anonymously owned and purchased by unknown interests since 2022, which have been tracked in Russian oil trades over the past three months.

Immediately after the ship was designated, it sailed for Malta from the Aliaga anchorage, and has drifted in international waters for three days since arriving.

It earlier discharged a cargo loaded at the Russian Baltic port of Ust-Luga in early November.

The registered owner and sanctioned entity is single-ship, Liberia-incorporated HS Atlantica Limited. Liberia’s flag registry is operated by US-incorporated Liberian International Ship & Corporate Registry.

However, further vessels might be in regulatory crosshairs. HS Atlantica is directly linked to 18 tankers operated by Dubai-based Hennesea Tankers Corporation - FZCO and Hennesea Holdings Limited, according to Lloyd’s List Intelligence data.

Since forming in 2022, Hennesea and its unknown backers have amassed the fleet of older tankers for shipping Russian oil and petroleum products.

Little is known about the company, which is based in the United Arab Emirates, does not have a website, and provides a brass-plate address from a large tower in Dubai for shipping databases.

A company of the same name was also incorporated in Hong Kong in June 2023.

HS Atlantica’s designation has implications for a further 10 tankers connected with the vessel via the ISM manager, India-based Maritas Fleet Private Limited.

Maritas Fleet was formed in 2022 and manages some 29 tankers including HS Atlantica.

With the exception of three small tankers under 5,000 dwt, all are deployed in Russian trades.

The addresses given by Maritas to shipping databases are either given as “behind a police station” in Mumbai that cannot be traced or a business centre, also in Mumbai. The India Register of Shipping classes all of the Maritas-managed vessels.

Whether HS Atlantica has retained P&I cover is unknown. It was not insured by one of the 12 clubs from the International Group of P&I Clubs, that covers 95% of the global tanker fleet.

Russia’s Ingosstrakh and Liechtenstein-based Maritime Mutual have provided cover for tankers in Russian trades. Both have sanctions exclusions clauses, which retrospectively terminate cover for breaches, including those covering the oil price cap.

Ingosstrakh said it could not comment on contracts with individual clients. Maritime Mutual did not respond to enquiries.

A general licence from Ofac authorises limited safety and environmental transactions related to the three sanctioned ships until February 29, 2024, according to the Department of Treasury.

HS Atlantica is signalling the ship doesn’t have any cargo after discharging in Türkiye days before the US designation.

Ofac has now sanctioned eight tankers since October 12 for breaching the Group of Seven oil price cap, including six owned by Russia-controlled Sovcomflot.

* Lloyd’s List defines a tanker as part of the dark fleet if it is aged 15 years or over, anonymously owned and/or has a corporate structure designed to obfuscate beneficial ownership discovery, solely deployed in sanctioned oil trades, and engaged in one or more of the deceptive shipping practices outlined by US State Department guidance issued in May 2020. The figures exclude tankers tracked to government-controlled shipping entities such as Russia’s Sovcomflot, or Iran’s National Iranian Tanker Co, and those already sanctioned. Download our explainer on the different risk profiles of the dark fleet here

Lloyd’s List Intelligence Seasearcher subscribers can add the Lloyd’s List dark fleet to their watchlists here