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New Zealand Insurer Accused of Covering Tankers Transporting Sanctioned Russian and Iranian Oil
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A New Zealand company, Maritime Mutual, has allegedly insured tankers that moved sanctioned oil from Russia and Iran, with the total value reaching tens of billions of US dollars, according to investigation conducted by Reuters on October 28.
The company, managed by 75-year-old British national Paul Rankin and his family, has insured various maritime vessels for over two decades. The investigation suggests this Auckland-based insurer played a crucial role in the Iranian and Russian oil trade by providing essential insurance coverage to vessels that were deliberately bypassing Western sanctions, allowing them to enter ports globally.
According to Reuters, David Tannenbaum, director of sanctions consultancy Blackstone Compliance Services and a former US Treasury sanctions specialist, characterized the New Zealand firm as one of the “big power players” in the industry. Tannenbaum added that the scale of the company's activities suggests its significant role: “The numbers are larger than a lot of the dark fleet actors we follow that are majors in their business.”
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Many of these vessels form the “shadow fleet”—tankers that obscure their movements and cargo to transport sanctioned goods from nations including Iran and Russia. Maritime Mutual’s insurance was reportedly vital in keeping this fleet operational despite sanctions designed to limit Iran’s funding of militants and deplete Russia’s military budget during its war against Ukraine.
The investigation found that at one point, the company insured nearly one out of every six shadow fleet tankers sanctioned by the US, the European Union, and the United Kingdom.
In response to Reuters, Maritime Mutual stated it “categorically denies” violating any existing international sanctions. The company claimed it maintains a “zero-tolerance policy” toward sanctions breaches and operates under “rigorous compliance standards designed to ensure full adherence to all applicable laws and regulations”.
While the company's complete list of clients remains confidential, Reuters identified 231 tankers insured by Maritime Mutual since 2018. This list was compiled using diverse sources, including emails from Iranian oil traders leaked by hackers, Russian customs and port records, shipping databases, company documents, and information from industry professionals.
Reuters then provided this data to the Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air (CREA), a Helsinki-based think tank specializing in the energy sector. Based on that analysis, CREA found that 130 of the 231 vessels had transported Iranian energy products after the November 2018 sanctions or Russian energy products following the December 2022 sanctions.
The CREA estimates that ships covered by Maritime Mutual transported at least $18.2 billion worth of Iranian oil and energy products and $16.7 billion in Russian oil.
Earlier, a Russian oil tanker heading for India suddenly changed direction while sailing in the Baltic Sea. This unexpected maneuver suggests that new US sanctions targeting Russian energy giants may be disrupting crude oil shipments between Moscow and New Delhi.
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