Russian Warship Spotted Escorting Two Inbound Stateless Tankers
Two stateless tankers inbound to the Russian oil operations in the Baltic were spotted traveling with a Russian warship. Russia in the past has been seen escorting some of its military cargo ships, and in May appeared to be escorting outbound shadow fleet tankers in the Baltic following the increasing effort by the Baltic nations and the EU to crack down on the shadow fleet.
The latest move was called “A major step in sanctions evasion,” in a LinkedIn posting from Mark Douglas, a maritime domain awareness analyst at Starboard Maritime Intelligence. He reported the escort using data from open-source intelligence on Bluesky. Douglas suggested it was “deliberate timing” for the tankers to meet up with the Russian corvette Boikiy as they reached the English Channel and headed to the Baltic. The vessels are now in the Kattegat, but neither tanker is showing an accurate destination on its AIS signal.
The two tankers have each been sanctioned by the UK and one also by the EU. The Equasis database lists both with unknown flags and links them to companies in Dubai and India.
The tanker Naxos (105,827 dwt) is alternately using the name Selva and is displaying Palau as its flag after previously showing Panama. In 2022, it reported registry first in the Marshall Islands and later in St. Kitts and Nevis.
The tanker Sierra (113,905 dwt) is displaying a flag of Malawi after having been registered in São Tomé & Principe in 2023 and before that Barbados and Gabon. Until 2022, the vessel was known as Suvorovsky Prospect and was managed by Russia’s SCF (Sovcomflot).
They were spotted traveling with the Boikiy (2,100 displacement tons), a Steregushchy-class corvette that appears to be employed for various escort duties of merchant ships. The vessel was commissioned in 2013 and, in mid-May, was spotted accompanying the Russian-flagged cargo vessels MV Siyanie Severa and MV Patria as they headed south into the Atlantic Ocean, according to Itamilradar. In March and again in early May, the UK's Royal Navy reported tracking the same warship along with merchant ships on transits of the English Channel.
Finland’s Defense Minister Antti Häkkänen said in a TV interview in late May that tankers crossing the Gulf of Finland from Russia had a naval escort. It came after Estonia attempted to inspect another tanker that was suspected of being stateless. A Russian fighter jet briefly appeared as Estonia was attempting to contact the tanker, but the tanker refused to be directed into local waters and continued on its course.
Last week, Denmark identified another stateless tanker inbound to Russia. The Danish Maritime Authority reported that the tanker had misled the authorities, reporting it was registered in Comoros. Denmark tracked the vessel into and out of the Baltic but did not attempt to stop it.
Other countries, including Sweden, have vowed to increase their efforts if the stateless tankers enter their territories. The EU and UK have also increased the number of tankers they have listed, seeking to further crack down on the shadow fleet and Russia’s oil exports.