Norwegian Actions Against Russia’s Shadow Fleet

Norway is tightening controls on foreign oil tankers in its economic zone. The aim is to get at Russia’s so-called shadow fleet.

Oil tankers sailing in waters around Norway will now be required to display insurance information.

The term ‘shadow fleet’ is used to describe a number of tankers that Russia uses to circumvent international sanctions. These vessels are generally outdated and circumvent regulations by, among other things, having complex ownership structures and sailing under flags of convenience. They are not usually insured by regular Western companies.

‘The government takes the challenges associated with the shadow fleet seriously. This type of traffic poses an increased risk to both the environment and safety at sea, while also helping to finance Russia’s illegal warfare,’ said Minister of Fisheries and Maritime Affairs Marianne Sivertsen Næss (Ap) in a press release.

The country’s coastal and maritime authorities will now collect and check insurance information.
Sweden introduced similar rules at the end of June. These enable the Coast Guard and the Maritime Administration to obtain insurance information from ships, not only when they enter port but also when they pass through Swedish territorial waters or the economic zone.

In recent years, the EU, the US and other Western countries have imposed increasingly heavy sanctions on Russia in response to its invasion of Ukraine. Russia has launched a shadow fleet of at least a thousand ships to circumvent the sanctions and obtain oil revenues for its war economy.

^{Cover image: An oil tanker registered in the Cook Islands, photographed near the Gulf of Finland last year. Archive image. Photo: Jussi Nukari/AP/TT}