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Ukraine Exposes 66 Ships in Russian-Iranian-Venezuelan Shadow Fleet Smuggling Sanctioned Oil
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![Photo of Ivan Khomenko]( "Photo of Ivan Khomenko")
The Ukrainian Defense Intelligence Agency (HUR) has publicly identified 66 vessels operated by Russia, Iran, and Venezuela that are allegedly involved in the transport of sanctioned oil and the theft of Ukrainian grain.
The findings were published on January 28 in the “Maritime Vessels” section of the War&Sanctions portal, a joint Ukrainian initiative aimed at exposing sanction evasion and maritime activity supporting Russia’s war effort.
According to HUR, the flagged vessels include oil tankers connected to Cymare Shipmanagement Ltd, registered in Cyprus, and Cymare Navigation FZC, based in the United Arab Emirates.
The agency states that since 2023, the tanker fleet operated by these companies has “freely facilitated oil revenues for Russia,” despite being registered in countries that are members of the European Union.
Ukrainian intelligence also links the network to Nikolay Spichenok, a British national who holds senior positions at Sovcomflot, Russia’s state-owned shipping company. Spichenok has reportedly continued to manage operations tied to Sovcomflot despite the company being under sanctions from the US, UK, EU, and other coalition countries.
According to the HUR, tankers associated with Sovcomflot—especially those involved in oil shipments to and from Venezuela—are increasingly registering under the Russian flag.
Previously, these vessels operated under third-country flags in an effort to obscure their ties to sanctioned entities. This shift is seen as an open acknowledgment of their service to what HUR calls “the military and economic interests of the aggressor state.”
The agency notes that these changes align with provisions of Russia’s 2022 Naval Doctrine, which promotes:
Expanding the civilian fleet under the Russian flag to support “national interests” in the global maritime domain,
Increasing readiness for maritime mobilization,
Integrating pre-prepared civilian vessels and crews into the armed forces during wartime.
HUR issued a warning to crews and captains working aboard shadow fleet vessels. The agency stated that “unscrupulous operators” often abandon their ships and seafarers once vessels become the focus of law enforcement scrutiny. In such cases, sailors are left to face potential legal, financial, and humanitarian consequences on their own.
The agency’s updated database also includes vessels believed to be complicit in smuggling Ukrainian grain from occupied territories and breaching Ukraine’s state maritime border.
Earlier, Helsingin Sanomat reported that the captain of the shadow fleet vessel FITBURG detained by Finland—identified as Andrey Maksymenko—had previously conducted multiple voyages between Russia and Iran aboard the cargo ship KALEVALA, calling at Iranian ports under EU sanctions. The investigation linked these routes to suspected Iran–Russia arms transfers during 2022–2023.
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