RECORD volumes of Russian oil were carried on dark fleet* and sanctioned tankers without known insurance over September as increased scrutiny of trades by Western regulators coincided with a flurry of flag-hopping, changed ownership and management structures and other deceptive shipping practices.

Some 141 ships that were defined as part of the so-called dark fleet of 670 vessels transporting sanctioned Russian, Venezuelan and Iranian oil comprised 55% of tankers tracked calling at Russia in the past month, loading crude, fuel oil and refined products.

That is the most (measured by deadweight) since monthly tracking began in mid-2022, exceeding the 54% seen in May, 2024, and the past month’s tally of 53%, according to analysis of data from Vortexa and Lloyd’s List Intelligence compiled by Lloyd’s List.

Five percent of all oil shipped from Russian ports in the past month came via 11 tankers designated by Western governments for breaching the G7 price cap, data from commodities data analytics provider Vortexa and Lloyd’s List Intelligence show.

Nine of the ships noted trading were sanctioned by the UK or EU between July and September, and all were beneficially owned by Russian government-controlled Sovcomflot. 

The remaining two, suezmax Eternal Peace (IMO: 9259745) and medium-range product tanker Nebulax (IMO: 9203928) were sanctioned by the US Office of Foreign Assets Control for breaching sanctions on Syria and Iran respectively, data show.

Most of the UK and EU-sanctioned tankers have already discharged cargoes in China, while two are waiting outside ports in India, suggesting that some oil traders, refiners and port authorities in these countries are willing to disregard sanctions that aren’t imposed by Ofac.

Some Sovcomflot tankers changed names, reflagged to Barbados, redomiciled registered ownership to Seychelles and moved shipmanagement to a newly incorporated UAE-based shipmanager Avebury Shipmanagment LLC-FZ in late August after designations. 

Both the EU27 and the UK changed laws this year in order to directly list vessels by IMO number in the same manner as Ofac. 

Even though European and UK sanctions are not as effective as Ofac measures, increased enforcement in the past four months has sharply divided the Russian market into G7 cap-compliant and non-compliant trades.

This month, Greece-owned tankers shipped 23% of oil from Russia in September, data show, a figure that has remained unchanged for the past three months. 

But data indicates shipowners with the appetite to trade in Russia want to keep on the right side of Western regulators by focusing on transporting clean products, where there is no doubt that cargoes remain below the cap. 

Diesel, gasoil and gasoline have priced below the cap of $100 per barrel for refined products for all of 2024.

As a result, tankers from Türkiye, Greece and other countries shipped 53% of clean products from Russia in September, Vortexa data showed.

Crude grades that price above the $60 per barrel crude cap are now exclusively shipped on Russian and ‘dark’ tankers.

Russian oil loaded from Arctic and eastern seaboard ports in Russia have always priced above $60 per barrel since the cap was imposed in December 2023, according to assessments by price reporting agency Argus Media.  

For the first time this month, the handful of Greece-owned tankers that had remained in this market, with their tankers observed loading from Arctic ports over most of 2024, were absent. 

Fuel oil shipped from Russia averaged $49 per barrel over September, with the price assessed below the $45 per barrel cap for these products for seven days, Argus Media assessments show.

As a result, 23 Greece-owned tankers shipped fuel oil cargoes, although the majority (24 cargoes) were lifted by Russian or dark ships.

Urals crude, shipped from Baltic and Black Sea ports, dipped briefly under $60 per barrel for four days over September but has pushed back above the cap since October 1 on the back of geopolitical tensions that have lifted global oil prices.

Eleven Greece-owned tankers shipped Urals cargoes, comprising 8% of all Russia crude exported in the past month.

The bifurcation was also reflected in insurance cover. Some 201 of the 310 tankers tracked did not have insurance with the 12 clubs that form the International Group of P&I Clubs, or 68% when measured by deadweight.

That is the lowest number of tankers seen with IG club insurance, surpassing 67% seen over July and August.

Insurance with IG clubs is viewed as a proxy for cap compliance. 

Introduced in December 2023 with the dual purpose of keeping Russian oil flowing to avoid inflation-inducing price shocks while limited income to the Kremlin, the G7 banned oil imports to Europe and other Western countries.

Western marine service providers including banks, charterers, shipowners, insurers and traders could ship oil to third countries as long as the oil was sold below the cap. 

The policy has been much maligned for creating a separate fleet of tankers that operate outside Western jurisdiction. This has been further amplified as regulators stepped up enforcement by designating a select group of sanctions-busting tankers.

Vortexa data show that 69% of all crude shipped in September was carried on dark fleet tankers and a further 18% carried on tankers owned by Russian government-controlled Sovcomflot.

In relation to the cargoes carried on their sanctioned ships, two sailed for India, Legacy (IMO: 9339337) and NS Clipper (IMO: 9341081). These were loaded with Urals crude but have yet to discharge at the Reliance refinery berth at Jamnagar, their expected destination.

Four cargoes were ESPO-blend crude grades shipped from the eastern Russian port of Kozmino, all on tankers beneficially owned by Sovcomflot, and discharged at Chinese ports.

* 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