Sanctioned ‘Shadow’ Tanker Busts Sanctions via Georgian Waters
The oil tanker Silvar (IMO 9291262), a notorious member of Russia’s “shadow fleet,” successfully breached Georgian territorial waters on Jan. 30, marking the first time the vessel has been documented offloading cargo in the country.
According to an investigation by the Georgian outlet iFact, the Silvar departed Russia’s Novorossiysk terminal at dawn on Jan. 29. In a move typical of “ghost ships” attempting to hide their location from international monitors, the vessel disabled its Automatic Identification System (AIS) shortly after leaving the Russian port.
The tanker’s signal re-emerged just inside Georgian waters at 1:00 a.m. on Jan. 30. The Silvar tanker’s history reads like a manual for sanctions evasion. Managed by various entities linked to sanctioned networks in the UK, US and EU, the 21-year-old vessel has a history of “identity hopping.”
Since the full-scale invasion of Ukraine began, the ship has changed its name three times and its flag registration six times. Ukraine blacklisted the tanker on Dec. 13, 2025. Its previous owners were sanctioned by Washington and London between 2024 and 2025.
The Iranian-Russian Connection
In 2022, the vessel — then known as the Matterhorn Spirit – was integrated into an Iranian maritime network under the name Themis 1, managed by the sanctioned Koban Shipping LLC. The ship is currently registered to an Indian firm, Lasiglia Investment Inc, though analysts note this is often a front for continued Russian or Iranian operations.
The arrival of the Silvar in the Black Sea poses more than just a geopolitical headache for Tbilisi; it is a major environmental threat. According to equasis.org, the vessel lacks insurance from any reputable international provider – a hallmark of the “shadow fleet” that leaves coastal nations with no financial recourse in the event of an oil spill.
Growing Questions for Georgia
Silvari’s arrival in Georgia raises uncomfortable questions. How did a tanker linked to sanctioned Russian and Iranian shipping networks enter Georgian waters? What due diligence was conducted before allowing it to unload oil at a Georgian terminal? And how prepared is Georgia to deal with the legal, environmental, and reputational risks posed by aging, uninsured shadow fleet vessels?
In an interview with the Georgian broadcaster TV Pirveli, former senior Georgian Border Police official Gocha Beridze said that the arrival of the sanctioned tanker Silvari at the Kulevi port is further evidence that Georgia’s current authorities are helping Russia bypass international sanctions. According to Beridze, Georgia’s Border Police should have had information about the tanker’s background several days before it entered Georgian-controlled waters.
“Either the state deliberately concealed information about this tanker, or it was fully aware of its background and allowed it to enter anyway,” Beridze said in the interview. He emphasized that the vessel’s size alone makes any claim of ignorance implausible. The tanker is approximately 250 meters long and has a maximum carrying capacity of 114,834 tons of oil.
Beridze told TV Pirveli that the tanker can carry up to 100,000 tons of oil, with a market value of approximately $45-50 million. He also noted that one of the companies previously linked to the tanker was connected to Mohammad Hossein Shamkhani, the son of Ali Shamk
Original Article: Sanctioned ‘Shadow’ Tanker Busts Sanctions via Georgian Waters — Kyivpost