Russia Tries To Evade Sanctions By Using 'Going Dark' Tactic: Report

Russian tanker ships could be attempting to evade sanctions prompted by the Ukrainian invasion by switching off their tracking systems, according to a maritime risk consultancy.

Location data provided by Israeli maritime risk consultancy firm Windward found that Russian tankers carrying oil chemicals and products turned off their tracking systems at least 33 times in the week ending March 25. The figures are double the weekly average of 14 recorded in the past year, according to data received by Bloomberg.

Commercial vessels of 300 gross metric tons or more are required to have their automatic identification system (AIS) to be turned on while sailing on international voyages. Turning off tracking systems is a tactic known as “going dark” or “dark activity.” The U.S. Treasury has flagged the tactic for being one of several practices used to evade sanctions.

“There’s no reason why they should have their AIS turned off,” Gur Sender, Windward’s program manager who specializes in compliance and risk issues, said. “Investigating if a vessel is engaged in deceptive shipping practices related to specific regimes is crucial to protect your business from dealing with sanctioned entities.”

The data from Windward also showed that ship-to-ship meetings between Russian oil tankers and non-Russian vessels were taking place. The meetings lasted long enough for Russian workers to transfer their cargo to vessels that are not affected by the sanctions. However, the firm noted that the frequency of the meetings was still at normal levels.

The firm has also detected 22 unique vessels that entered Russian waters for the first time following the outbreak of the war in Ukraine. The vessels included cargo vessels, a container vessel, tankers, a service vessel and commercial fishing vessels.

Reports of Russian vessels “going dark” comes after nine superyachts owned by Russian oligarchs and tycoons similarly switched off their tracking systems last week. Most of the yachts that “went dark” between Feb. 24, the start of the invasion, and March 11, the day when U.S. President Joe Biden announced sanctions on Russian oligarchs, were linked to people named on Western sanctions lists, including people believed to be in Russian President Vladimir Putin’s inner circle.