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Russia Scrapes for War Cash by Selling Part of Its Shadow Fleet Tanker Giant for $183 Million
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Russia is preparing one of its most significant state-asset sales in years, putting a stake in shipping giant Sovcomflot on the market as Moscow searches for cash to cover widening wartime budget deficits, The Moscow Times reported on November 4.
Russia’s Federal Agency for State Property Management has begun selecting organizers for the sale of a 7.8% stake in Sovcomflot, the country’s largest shipping company and a major operator associated with Russia’s shadow fleet of oil tankers.
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The stake represents roughly one-tenth of the government’s total 82.8% holding in the company.
Before the full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Sovcomflot operated what was described as the world’s largest fleet of medium-sized Aframax tankers, along with 10 icebreakers.
The Russian Finance Ministry could raise around $183 million from the sale based on the stake’s current market value, according to Freedom Global analyst Vladimir Chernov, although the actual proceeds may be lower.
“If the stake is offered to a broad range of investors, a discount to the market price may be required for a successful placement,” Chernov said.
The scale of the proposed sale is tiny compared with the holes opening in Russia’s federal finances.
Moscow is running an estimated budget deficit of roughly $89.2 billion this year, while projected shortfalls for 2027 through 2029 exceed $183 billion combined.
That means the roughly $183 million Sovcomflot sale would cover less than 0.1% of those projected three-year deficits.
Revenue from the privatization would flow into the federal budget as Moscow prepares another major increase in military spending.
Russia plans to spend roughly $209 billion on defense next year, equivalent to around 35% of all federal expenditure and about one-third more than envisaged under the 2026 budget law.
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Even after another round of tax increases, the Finance Ministry is projecting a deficit of about $66 billion next year.
The outlook remains deeply in the red beyond that. Russia’s 2028 budget is projected to run a deficit of roughly $62.3 billion, followed by another $63.5 billion gap in 2029.
Analysts at Vector Capital said the Sovcomflot sale could ultimately take place through a private transaction, with a state-selected investor purchasing the stake away from the public market.
A public offering could prove more difficult to absorb. Only around 16% of Sovcomflot shares currently trade freely on the market, and placing another 7.8% stake would increase that available supply by roughly half.
Previously, reports emerged that Russia was drawing down its gold reserves to cover a widening budget deficit. The growing financial pressure stems from declining oil and gas revenues and rising government spending, including expenditures on the war against Ukraine.
Russia’s Central Bank reduced its physical holdings of monetary gold for the tenth consecutive month in September 2026. During the month, reserves fell by 6.2 metric tons to approximately 2,260 tons, their lowest level since late 2019.
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