Shadow oil tankers are massively switching to the Russian flag - WSJ

After the US intensified its actions against the transportation of sanctioned Venezuelan oil, some of the so-called shadow fleet began to massively change their flags to Russian ones. Despite this, the American military continues to seize tankers. This is reported by The Wall Street Journal, according to UNN.

Details

After the seizure of five oil tankers - and the promise of further US military action - the global fleet of so-called shadow tankers carrying sanctioned oil is rapidly raising a new flag: the Russian tricolor. They hope that by operating under the flag of a country with a strong navy, they will be able to circumvent the US blockade of Venezuelan oil shipments and avoid interception by the coast guard. This does not seem to be working

According to US officials, the US has already seized five oil tankers that were transporting or attempting to transport sanctioned oil. The US military also continues to track other vessels traveling to or from Venezuela in an attempt to circumvent the restrictions of the Donald Trump administration.

One such tanker, the Bella 1, was moving "under a carelessly painted" Russian flag on its hull. Moscow sent ships to escort it as the vessel crossed the Atlantic Ocean. At the same time, the American military monitored its route.

The attempt to get protection from Russia did not work. On Wednesday, the tanker Bella 1, which turned out to be empty and not carrying oil, was seized during a raid by US special operations forces. The Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced that two Russian crew members would be released by agreement with the US government. The American side stated that the crews of all seized vessels would subsequently be repatriated.

In the last two weeks alone, as the Trump administration's attempts to block Venezuelan crude oil exports intensified, more than 15 tankers involved in the transportation of sanctioned oil changed their flags to Russian ones

According to the publication, in the last three months of 2025, 25 tankers switched to the Russian flag. Of these, 18 did so in December, and 16 vessels were already under US or UK sanctions. At the same time, the legitimacy of changing the flag during a voyage from the point of view of international maritime law remains unclear.

Recall

Tankers with Venezuelan oil and fuel left the country's territorial waters, ignoring the US naval blockade. This happened after President Donald Trump imposed a blockade on all sanctioned tankers in December 2025.