Shadow fleet network evades international maritime law to transport oil, gas and other goods, directly funding Russia’s war machine. Russia’s shadow fleet transports about 90 percent of Russian oil.

The shadow fleet undermines global trade integrity and creates substantial environmental and safety risks, endangers global shipping routes, serves as a spy platform, and is used for sabotage activities in the interests of the aggressor state.

Russia’s violations of UN sanctions, including the exchange of oil for North Korean troops and weapons, fuel its war in Ukraine and escalate security risks on the Korean Peninsula and in the entire Indo-Pacific region.

Governments must tighten sanctions to prevent their circumvention via the shadow fleet and ensure perpetrators face tangible consequences.

Ukraine and its international partners propose to reduce the price cap on Russian oil to $30 per barrel, impose sanctions on captains of shadow fleet vessels and crewing companies, strengthen control over tanker insurance compliance and leverage mechanisms to restrict the passage of tankers blacklisted under international port control memoranda.

Addressing Russia’s shadow fleet is essential to restoring global shipping integrity and preventing aggressor states from exploiting illicit networks to fuel their wars.