Sanctioned Suezmax Oil Tanker Navigates Russian Arctic Without Permit, Unknown Insurance, and Overdue for Inspection

Russia continues to push the safety envelope for oil shipments via the Arctic. A 19-year old sanctioned Suezmax tanker, Latur, loaded with Russian crude oil has entered the country’s Northern Sea Route. The Comoros-flagged tanker left Murmansk on August 6 and is currently displaying China as its destination with a September 6 arrival.

The vessel’s P&I insurance is unknown, a common situation for sanctioned vessels lacking Western protection and indemnity (P&I) coverage. Latur’s Comoros flag, black listed by both the Paris and Tokyo MOU, is also indicative of a “high risk” vessel, a poor safety record, and low compliance with international maritime regulations. 

Latur’s Indian Register of Shipping (IACS) classification was withdrawn in February this year due to an overdue survey, according to Equasis, an online shipping database.

According to Russia’s Northern Sea Route Administration website, Latur does not hold a permit for the Arctic waterway; an increasingly common occurrence as Moscow attempts to obscure the tracks of shadow fleet oil tankers and LNG carriers. Official Russian rules require every vessel that enters the waters of the route to apply for and hold a valid permit. 

For the past several summers Russia has dispatched crude oil through the Arctic on conventional and light ice-class tankers. The first delivery of crude oil on a non ice-class tanker occurred in September 2023. This latest shipment represents a further escalation of risk. 

Parts of the Northern Sea Route remain covered in sea ice, including in the Laptev, East Siberian, and Chukchi Seas. Latur has reached the edge of the ice extent and is currently passing through the Kara Sea without icebreaker escort.

The United States’ Office of Foreign Assets Control designated Latur, then called Mercury, in February 2024 for its involvement in transporting Russian oil around the world outside the G7 price-cap policy. 

Its owner at the time, Gatik Ship Management, was a key operator of the shadow fleet. The company came under scrutiny for quickly assembling an expanding fleet reaching more than 60 tankers moving Russian barrels. It subsequently disbanded its entire fleet.

Latur’s ownership was subsequently transferred to a single-vessel entity, Gessi Maritime Corp out of the Seychelles, in 2024. The switch is in line with the common practice of “juggling” ships from one entity to another to hide the real owners of sanctioned ships. 

The ship’s current owner, Gessi Maritime Corp, was designated by OFAC in January 2025. The vessel’s ISM-manager is Maple Maritime Solutions FZE based in the United Arab Emirates, based on information from Equasis. gCaptain was unable to reach Gessi Maritime for comment. 

Prior to loading crude at Murmansk the vessel idled for almost two weeks off Norway’s northern coast. Norwegian officials hope to curtail the practice as they announced a ramp up of inspections of sanctioned and possibly uninsured tankers shuttling oil through its waters. Officials aim to reduce the environmental risk of shipping in Norwegian waters and combat shadow fleet traffic.

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