CREA: EU Crackdown Cuts Shadow Fleet False Flags

Detentions Drive Down False-Flagged Shadow Tankers

Europe’s tightened enforcement against vessels covertly carrying Russian crude is showing measurable effect, according to a report by the Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air (CREA), as covered by The Maritime Executive. The nonprofit think tank found that the number of shadow fleet ships operating under false flags dropped sharply, from a high of 101 last October to just 45 by the end of June.

The decline coincides with a wave of boardings and detentions across European and UK waters. CREA counted roughly 13 tanker detentions in the first half of this year alone. Notable cases include the Smyrtos, a 2009-built crude tanker stopped by British forces in the English Channel in June over sanctions violations, and the Tagor, a 114,809 dwt tanker boarded by French troops in the Mediterranean in May.

Ships Seek Cover Under the Russian Flag

As scrutiny intensifies, an increasing share of sanctioned tankers appear to be reflagging to Russia. Between January 2025 and the end of June, 107 vessels joined the Russian ship registry, lifting the total fleet under that flag by 36 percent, from 280 to 382 ships. CREA notes that 87 percent of the newcomers were already under sanctions before they made the switch.

The pace of reflagging has slowed considerably, however. December was the busiest month, with 25 vessels added, but monthly additions fell steadily afterward — 17 in January down to just three by June. CREA attributes this cooling partly to a draft presidential decree that would impose an age cap on vessels the Russian registry accepts.

Of the 107 vessels that switched to the Russian flag, 93 were already sanctioned, and 72 of those had collectively carried Russian fossil fuel cargoes worth an estimated €7.5 billion ($8.5 billion). CREA found that once sanctioned, these vessels changed flags roughly three times more often than before, shifting registries every three to four months before finally settling under Russian colors.

Notable Cases Highlight the Pattern

Among the vessels that migrated to the Russian registry is the 2003-built gas carrier Arctic Metagaz, now the fifth-oldest ship on that registry. The vessel suffered an explosion in the Mediterranean in March while carrying 60,000 tonnes of Russian LNG. According to the report, Moscow did not organize a salvage response, leaving Libya, Malta, and Italy to handle the aftermath.

Another example is the Boracay, a 19-year-old tanker that repeatedly changed flags before settling under the Russian registry in January. It was the first shadow fleet tanker detained after France intercepted it off Saint-Nazaire last September; the vessel was sidelined for two months and its captain was sentenced in absentia to a year in prison. It later resurfaced under the Russian flag with a new name, Phoenix.

What It Means for Owners, Managers, and Charterers

For legitimate ship operators and charterers, this shows that flag-state churn among sanctioned tonnage isn’t slowing down — it’s simply relocating to a jurisdiction less exposed to Western port-state pressure. That has direct implications for counterparty due diligence: vessels with a history of rapid reflagging, unclear ownership chains, or recent Russian registry entry warrant closer scrutiny before charter or cargo commitments, since class status, insurance cover, and maintenance standards on such tonnage are often opaque or unverifiable.

It also underscores the growing value of independent condition and bunker surveys as a due diligence layer separate from flag-state or class assurances. When a vessel’s regulatory paper trail is unstable — as with ships jumping flags every few months — physical verification of hull condition, cargo integrity, and fuel quality becomes one of the few reliable checks available to owners, charterers, and insurers trying to avoid exposure to sanctioned or high-risk tonnage.

CREA’s report concludes by urging Europe to build enforcement mechanisms specifically targeting Russian-flagged vessels and to keep expanding inspections and detentions of the shadow fleet, arguing that current measures, while effective, have simply shifted where sanctioned ships choose to hide.

Reviewed by Ibrahim Halil Ceylan, Marine Surveyor at Apeks Marine.