Russia is massively re-registering shadow fleet tankers under its flag - intelligence
Kyiv • UNN
The Russian Federation is increasing the number of vessels under its flag due to the detention of tankers in the West. This creates conditions for sabotage and reconnaissance in the Baltic region.
Russia plans to increase the number of tankers transporting oil under the Russian flag. This was reported by UNN with reference to the Foreign Intelligence Service of Ukraine.
Details
This decision is dictated by the increasingly frequent precedents of detentions of Russian "shadow fleet" tankers by European countries and the United States of America.
This may also indicate Russia's interaction with Iran in the context of coordinating the safe passage of "shadow fleet" vessels through the zone of military conflict in the Middle East.
The distribution of tankers by countries of registration of shipowners is as follows: Seychelles - 35 vessels, China - 23 vessels, Azerbaijan - 13 vessels, and Samoa - 8 vessels. There are also tankers owned by shipowners registered in Vietnam, India, UAE, and the Marshall Islands.
The Foreign Intelligence Service of Ukraine noted that increasing the "shadow fleet" under the Russian flag automatically facilitates Russia's task of introducing Russian special services agents on them for further intelligence and subversive activities against Western countries. This becomes especially relevant in the Baltic region, which provides more than 40% of Russia's seaborne oil exports.
Recall
On March 1, Belgian armed forces, with the support of French defense forces, detained a Russian shadow fleet tanker. The operation was named "Blue Intruder".