Russian Oil Tankers Search for New Flags to Hide From Sanctions

(Bloomberg) —

A chunk of Russia’s oil tanker fleet is being forced to change the flag they sail under as US and UK sanctions heap pressure on Moscow’s shipping network.

The Barbados ship registry said that by the end of the month it will have asked a total of 46 ships to remove the country’s flag as a result of UK sanctions. Fourteen of these are also sanctioned by the US. Separately, Panama’s ship registry said earlier this month that it had begun to de-list 68 vessels that were sanctioned by the US.

Though all of the ships will likely find new flags, many vessels that serve Moscow’s interest have repeatedly had to switch to unusual service providers since the Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022. That’s a sign of the disruptive impact sanctions can have on the sprawling logistics operation that helps keep Russia’s oil flowing and war machine running. The latest moves follow the most sweeping sanctions on Russia’s exports to date earlier this month.

Sailing under the flag of Barbados had been a coup for Russian shipping as it’s one of the world’s more reputable vessel-registration nations. Flag states play a key role in ensuring maritime safety standards, and Russia has often had to turn to less well-known nations in the industry when it has lost access to blue-chip services. 

Still, Giovanni Ciniglio, the chief executive officer of the London-based Barbados Maritime Ship Registry, said the country has no sanctions against Russia but follows UK rules due to the good relationship between the two nations. As a result, Barbados won’t remove vessels sailing under its flag that were sanctioned by the US unless they are also sanctioned by the UK.

Some of the Barbados ships have already been re-registered with other nations including Tanzania and São Tomé and Príncipe, according to the Equasis marine database.

For its part, Panama said it had begun to cancel the 68 vessels after it passed a rule late last year that aligned the country with US, European Union, UK and United Nations sanctions.

© 2025 Bloomberg L.P.

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