Russia's Arctic sea routes have become a critical corridor for the global shadow fleet of oil and LNG tankers subject to sanctions, sparking serious concerns regarding safety, the environment, and geopolitical stability. According to gCaptain, in 2025 nearly one-third of the ships that used the Northern Sea Route belonged to the so-called shadow fleet. A report by the Bellona Foundation identified 100 sanctioned vessels, primarily oil and LNG tankers, traversing the route over the last year, compared to just 13 in 2024. For years, Moscow promoted the Northern Sea Route as a key axis of legitimate trade, shortening the path between Asia and Europe. However, by 2025, the route is used primarily by sanctioned vessels, making it an illicit maritime passage.
These vessels are typically aged tankers without adequate ice-class certification for sailing in frozen waters and with limited insurance coverage. They often sail under ambiguous flags and disable their transponders, concealing their movements in sensitive and remote waters. Simultaneously, Russian authorities have ceased publishing accurate data regarding maritime activity on the route.
The role of Rosatom
"Rosatom, Russia's powerful state nuclear corporation and the official manager of the Northern Sea Route, is systematically restricting public access to information," stated Kseniya Vakhrouseva, an Arctic advisor at Bellona. This year, managers stopped publishing data on vessel positions and annual reports on accidents and incidents. In total, researchers identified 38 oil and product tankers and 13 sanctioned LNG carriers using the route, while some tankers sail without official permission from the route manager.
The sharp increase in the route's use by the shadow fleet reverses Russia's pre-Ukraine war ambitions, when it attempted to attract Western shipping interests and project the Northern Sea Route as a viable commercial option. In 2018, the Danish company Maersk celebrated its first passage with an event in St. Petersburg, accompanied by congratulatory statements from President Vladimir Putin. Today, the majority of vessels are Russian or Chinese-owned, with sanctioned oil and LNG tankers at the forefront, demonstrating how geopolitical isolation has reshaped shipping patterns in the Arctic. The situation is exacerbated by the connection of this Arctic dark fleet with the international activities of the global shadow fleet. The tanker Hyperion, for example, after crossing the Northern Sea Route, traveled to Venezuela loaded with Russian naphtha, proving that sanctioned tankers in the Arctic are part of an international network bypassing global sanctions.
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