RLRISE Moldova, a community of investigative journalists, programmers and activists from the Republic of Moldova and Romania, refers to the tanker as a shadow fleet involved in russian oil exports.
During the period of the G7 and EU oil embargo and the price-cap policy on russian oil, the tanker is involved in the export of oil to third countries from russian ports.
To avoid sanctions, russia's 'shadow fleet' uses 'convenient' flags for tankers and complex ownership and management structures, employing a variety of tactics to conceal the origin of its cargo, including: ship-to-ship transfers, disabling automatic identification systems, falsifying positions, transmitting false data, and other deceptive or even illegal methods. In addition to bolstering military capabilities, russia's 'shadow fleet', consisting of a growing number of outdated and poorly maintained vessels operating with minimal compliance with regulations, poses significant risks to the environment, maritime safety and navigation security.
The tanker is affiliated with Adel Ship Management SRL (Moldova), which manages tankers that help russia transport crude oil under Western sanctions. Adel Ship Management SRL is considered one of the largest carriers of russian crude oil, in particular, in the first half of 2024, the Moldovan company shipped 2.6 million barrels of oil, which is approximately 2% of total russian exports. Thus, the company is among the top ten russian crude oil carriers, along with operators from Greece, the UAE and China.
Oil exports from russia are the most important source of income for the kremlin regime to finance its war against Ukraine. The tax on oil production collected by the russian federation in 2023 amounted to 8.9 trillion rubles, or 31% of total federal revenues. According to CREA data for September 2024, russia's revenues from crude oil exported by sea amounted to 192 million euros per day, 86% of the total volume of russian marine crude oil was transported by 'shadow' tankers, while tankers owned or insured in countries that impose price restrictions accounted for 14% of the total value of russian oil exported in September.
Thus, the 'shadow fleet' of the russian federation continues to provide multibillion-dollar revenues for the kremlin bypassing sanctions, disguising its activities under the flags of third countries, using complex schemes to conceal owners, and poses significant threats to environmental safety with significant economic costs for coastal countries and/or the international community due to the outdated and inadequate insurance of shadow fleet tankers.