The aggressor’s first actions were the occupation of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea and the city of Sevastopol. From this…
The Defence Intelligence of Ukraine, in the Maritime Vessels section of the War&Sanctions portal, has published data on 66 vessels belonging to the shadow fleet of the Russian Federation, Iran, and Venezuela, as well as vessels involved in the theft of Ukrainian grain and violations of Ukraine’s state border.
This was stated in a message by the DIU on its Telegram channel.
In particular, Ukraine’s military intelligence has exposed the activities of tankers from the network of companies Cymare Shipmanagement Ltd (Cyprus) and Cymare Navigation FZC (United Arab Emirates).
Since 2023 and to this day, the tanker fleet of the Cymare Shipmanagement Ltd (Cyprus) and Cymare Navigation FZC (UAE) group of companies has been freely providing Russia with oil revenues to continue its war against Ukraine, disguising itself through company registrations in European Union member states.
The top manager of this group is Nikolay Spichenok, a citizen of the United Kingdom, who for a long time worked and continues to work in senior positions at Russia’s largest state-owned shipping company, PJSC Sovcomflot, as well as in affiliated structures.
As a reminder, PJSC Sovcomflot, which is under sanctions imposed by most countries of the sanctions coalition, ensures the transportation of Russian oil, petroleum products, and liquefied gas, cooperating with leading Russian oil and gas companies and traders.
Currently, tankers from the Sovcomflot “orbit,” including those involved in transporting oil and petroleum products to and from Venezuela, are massively changing their flags to Russian ones, effectively confirming their involvement in servicing the military and economic interests of the aggressor state.
Previously, such shadow fleet vessels operated under the flags of third countries in order to evade Western sanctions.
This trend directly corresponds to the provisions of Russia’s Maritime Doctrine, which предусматривает:
- expansion of the civilian fleet under the Russian flag and its use to secure “national interests” in the World Ocean;
- strengthening mobilization readiness in the maritime domain;
- integration of pre-prepared civilian vessels and crews into the armed forces of the Russian Federation during wartime.
The Defence Intelligence of Ukraine separately urges captains and crews of shadow fleet vessels to avoid cooperation with shadow shipping operators.
“Dishonest shadow fleet operators are the first to disappear as soon as a vessel comes under the attention of law enforcement agencies — leaving sailors alone to face the legal, financial, and humanitarian consequences of the crime”, — the statement says.
