Russian Shadow Fleet Grows to 600 Vessels, World Bank Reports
The crew of the bunker tanker Rina are prepared for another day of hard work at sea, operating like a floating fuel station, refuelling other ships passing through the Danish straits. The waterway connecting the Baltic and North Seas is one of the busiest in the world, with around 200 ships passing through daily.
Among them are tankers from Russia’s shadow fleet – old, uninsured vessels with unknown ownership, helping Russia circumvent Western sanctions by selling Russian oil and petroleum products globally. At 11 AM on a typical day, one such vessel approached Rina for refuelling – a crude oil tanker named Blue, capable of carrying up to 1,000,000 barrels of oil – en route to Primorsk, one of Russia’s main oil export terminals.
FB Trade and Fast Bunkering: The Baltic Connection
Rina and Zircone belong to FB Trade, a company registered in Dubai. However, its connections and true owners lead to the Baltic bunkering giant Fast Bunkering, which until recently operated in the port of Klaipėda. An investigation by LRT, 15min, Eesti Ekspress, and Nekā personīga found that between June 2024 and March 2025, the bunker tankers Rina and Zircone conducted 286 ship-to-ship operations, refuelling 177 oil and oil product tankers, of which at least 159 had called at Russian ports shortly before or after these transfers.
Analysis Reveals Shadow Fleet’s True Nature
According to Anatalii Kravtsev, an analyst at the Kyiv School of Economics, at the time Rina and Zircone supplied fuel, at least 20 of those tankers showed clear signs they were part of the Russian shadow fleet. “Specifically, these vessels lacked insurance coverage from any member of the International Group of P&I Clubs, and their owners and management companies were registered outside the jurisdictions of the Oil Price Cap Coalition,” said Kravtsev.
Compliance with Sanctions Remains a Concern
While international sanctions permit exceptions for refuelling vessels transporting Russian oil, stringent legal conditions apply. “Bunkering companies must conduct thorough checks, maintain transparent documentation, and comply with all legal standards,” according to Petras Katinas from the Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air.
This includes verifying not only that the oil cargo adheres to the G7+ price caps but also that the tanker does not exhibit shadow fleet characteristics – such as lacking valid insurance, working with sanctioned entities, or violating maritime safety procedures. This was also confirmed by Alexander Proko
Original Article: How Baltic firms secretly fuel Russia’s ‘shadow fleet’ — Euobserver