It is suspected that it is involved in an overview of Denmark. The Petrolero “Boracay” who beat Benin’s pavilion was controlled by Brittany’s French authorities on Wednesday, October 1.
Directed by an investigation for “maritime crimes”, the ship belongs to the Russian “ghost fleet”, a set of clandestine ships suspected of allowing Russia to export its oil despite the sanctions imposed since the invasion of Ukraine.
This Thursday, President Emmanuel Macron asked to “increase the pressure” in this Navy “to reduce Russia’s ability to finance his war.”
· What is a “ghost fleet”?
The British government describes the ships involved in illegal operations such as “ghost float” to avoid sanctions, escape compliance with security or environmental regulations, avoid insurance costs or participate in other illegal activities.
The mode of operation of these ships makes them difficult to identify: a frequent change of the pavilions, opaque owners installed in tax havens, transponders (device that emits an identification signal) often extinguished …
These “shadow fleets” (“shadow fleet”) already existed before the war in Ukraine. They were used in particular by Iran and Venezuela, two countries under US oil sanctions, or even North Korea.
Since the beginning of the war in Ukraine in 2022, the Ghostly Fleet at a global scale, “which mainly transported goods to destination and from Iran and Venezuela, exploded in size,” according to the American Reflection Group Atlantic Council. The latter estimates that about 17% of all oil tankers are part of this fleet that also includes other types of merchant ships.
Why does Russia have a “ghost fleet”?
Russia is the objective since 2022 of sanctions aimed at unexpected gain linked to the sale of its “black gold”, vital to finance its invasion of Ukraine. Europeans have established an embargo on the importation of Russian oil by sea, prohibiting Russian oil tankers access to European ports and maritime services.
The EU and the G7 also acted a limit on the price of Russian crude. The system prohibits providing the services that allow maritime transport (load, insurance …) of Russian oil beyond the $ 60 ceiling, to limit the income extracted by Moscow from their deliveries to countries such as China or India.
To avoid these sanctions, Moscow had to reduce its dependence on western maritime services and compose its own fleet when buying oils indirectly, to which it offers its own insurance services.
During the month of August 2025, “400 ships exported crude oil and Russian oil products, 125 of which were ghost oil trees,” according to the Energy and Pure Air Research Center (CREA), which has its headquarters in Helsinki.
According to Emmanuel Macron, oil trade is attributed to the “ghost fleet” represents “more than 30 billion euros” for Russia’s budget, and makes it possible to finance “30 to 40%” of its war effort “against Ukraine.
Beyond its commercial utility, it is suspected that the Russian ghost fleet meets other missions at the service of Kremin’s interests. “The suspicion weighs on the use of these oil tankers for military or intimidation purposes,” he emphasizes Jean de Glinias, French diplomat and former French ambassador to Russia, in our podcast the cover title.
How do Kyiv’s allies react?
The ships accused of being part of the Russian “ghost fleet” are subject to sanctions by the allies of Ukraine. With the 18th train of sanctions adopted in July by the EU, “105 additional ships” were recorded on the Russian “Ghost” fleet list, which takes 444 the number of ships sanctioned by the EU.
“The ships registered in the list are subject to the prohibition of access to the ports and a prohibition of the provision of services,” recalls the European Commission of its site.
“Since the EU began to register these ships on the list, deliveries of Russian crude oil have decreased by 76 %,” said Brussels.
The United Kingdom has sanctioned approximately 500 of these buildings since February 2022. The United States pointed to 183.
· What are the risks to the environment?
Experts regularly warn against the “huge environmental risks” that the old ships that make up the ghost fleets weigh. The reflection group of the Atlantic Council had estimated, in early 2024, that ships over 20 years of age should constitute 11% of the world oil fleet in 2025, against only 3% before the war in Ukraine.
Ghost ships do not have adequate insurance, called “P&I”, however, mandatory for commercial ships and with the intention of covering risks ranging from the risks of war to collisions or damage caused to the environment, such as black tides.
Around 90 to 95% of the P&I insurance market are in the hands of the insurers of the European Union and the United Kingdom, which therefore apply the sanctions against Moscow. “Other types of insurance, such as the alternative patterns offered by Russian and Iranian governments, are very insufficient,” said Elisabeth Braw, of the Atlantic Council.
In the Baltic Sea in particular, “the risk of dark tide has existed for many years”, but “the Russian ghost fleet has increased considerably this risk,” Mikko Hirvi, a Finnish maritime security official, alerted to respond to the threats to the marine environment.
Source: BFM TV
