Despite sanctions imposed by the US, UK, and EU this year, the so-called "shadow" tanker fleet continues to expand rapidly, the industry publication Splash reports, citing figures from broker BRS, the CFTS portal reports.
The "shadow" fleet, which comprises oil tankers over 3,000 deadweight tons, has increased to 1,140 ships totaling 127.4 million deadweight tons, up from 930 such vessels with a combined 109.6 million deadweight tons just six months ago. This represents an average growth rate of 30 vessels per month.
According to the report, 886 tankers — 78% of the "shadow" fleet — are now considered sanctioned, up significantly from just 191 last year. This means that nearly 9% of the entire global oil tanker fleet has now been blacklisted, primarily due to ties to Russia’s largest shipping company Sovcomflot, the National Iranian Tanker Company (NITC), or Venezuela's state-owned oil and natural gas company, PDVSA.
"The fleet's aging profile is also alarming. With an average age of 20.2 years, grey tankers are significantly older than the mainstream average of 15 years. Instead of heading to scrap yards, many of these elderly ships are being traded into shadow operations due to resale premiums far exceeding demolition values," the publication writes.
The largest segment of the "shadow" fleet comprises 977 tankers with a combined deadweight tonnage of over 34,000, making up 17.3% of the global fleet in that size bracket. There are now 166 "shadow" Very Large Crude Carrier (VLCC) tankers and 133 Suezmax tankers, putting the "shadow" fleet at 18.2% of the global oil tanker tonnage.
Despite these risks, Western shipowners have profited greatly. According to the investigative platform Follow the Money, more than USD 6 billion has been earned from selling older tankers for use in "shadow" operations.
In July, two ship registries and 105 vessels were among the entities listed in the EU’s latest Russian sanctions. At the same time, the UK targeted 137 vessels over their links to Russia. Last week, the U.S. Treasury Department imposed the largest sanctions since 2018 against Iranian vessels.
