Russia flag switch loses appeal for shadow fleet operators
- US seizure of the Russian‑flagged Marinera shattered assumptions that Moscow’s registry offered protection from interdiction
- Reflagging to Russia has collapsed in 2026, with only two shadow fleet tankers switching by late March
- UK-French operations targeting stateless and falsely flagged vessels signal a new phase of coordinated European enforcement
A US seizure of a Russian‑flagged tanker and a new wave of UK-EU enforcement have punctured the appeal of the Russian register for shadow fleet operators
