Russian tankers carry out oil operations off the coasts of Greece and Cyprus – GUR

Russian tankers are illegally transshipping oil between each other in the Mediterranean Sea near Greece and Cyprus.

This was reported by the press service of the Main Intelligence Directorate.

Since July 2024, Russia has been using an Aframax tanker, without Western insurance, as a floating transshipment hub for the supply of sanctioned oil.

“Such operations pose an environmental threat, allow the Russian Federation to hide the origin of oil, evade international control, and ensure its supply to third countries, bypassing sanctions,” the GUR noted.

The GUR published data about the vessel on the War&Sanctions portal. In total, the portal’s database contains data on 577 such oil tankers. The total mass that these vessels can transport exceeds 63 million metric tons.

“In the fourth year of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, oil and gas exports remain a key source of funding for the Russian Federation’s budget. According to estimates, a third of these revenues in 2025 are going to finance the war against Ukraine,” the GUR reported.

It is noted that the Russian shadow fleet is increasingly using risky methods in maritime logistics, including disabling identification systems, falsifying navigation data, and reloading oil at night without lighting.

Such actions pose a threat to the environment, especially given the technical condition of the old vessels of the shadow fleet and the lack of insurance. Such operations can lead to accidents and environmental disasters in the Mediterranean Sea.

“In addition to evading sanctions, the shadow fleet is used by Russia as an element of hybrid warfare. There have been cases of such vessels participating in reconnaissance and sabotage operations, in particular in the Baltic Sea, where they conduct surveillance of naval infrastructure, submarine cables, and other critical facilities,” the GUR noted.

As a reminder, the European Union has approved the 17th package of sanctions against Russia , which imposes restrictions on almost 200 ships of its shadow fleet. The new restrictions are also aimed at countering hybrid threats from Russia and protecting human rights.

Subsequently, the United Kingdom announced the expansion of the sanctions list against Russia . In particular, more than 100 new sanctions targets were added.

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