Seven Shadow Fleet Tankers Spoof AIS to Hide Novorossiysk Voyages

Sanctioned Tankers Fake Their Positions Near the Bosphorus A cluster of seven sanctioned Russian tankers were found to have routinely and deliberately manipulated AIS over the past 90 days to falsely claim they were drifting off the Black Sea close to the Bosphorus entrance.

The tankers were instead identified by Windward clandestinely sailing for the Russian oil terminal of Novorossiysk to load oil, hugging the Black Sea coastline to try and avoid Ukrainian drone attacks.

At the same time, the tankers manipulated their AIS, a process known as spoofing. They began the practice shortly after transiting the Bosporus to enter the Black Sea just outside Turkey’s territorial waters but within the country’s exclusive economic zone. The spoofing left tell-tale uneven tracks.

Windward Identifies Seven Sanctioned Shadow Fleet Tankers The vessels identified were a Sierra Leone-flagged Suezmax tanker, a Russia-flagged Aframax, a Russia-flagged Aframax tanker, an Equatorial Guinea-flagged Suezmax, an Equatorial Guinea-flagged Aframax, a Comoros-flagged Suezmax, and a Russia-flagged Aframax tanker.

This story was originally published by Hellenic Shipping News. Read the full story at Hellenic Shipping News →