Russia has significantly increased the number of vessels flying its national flag as part of efforts to maintain oil shipments amid heightened Western sanctions targeting maritime transport. According to a recent analysis by the Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air (CREA), the Russian ship registry expanded by 36 percent between January 2025 and June 2026, growing from 280 to 382 vessels.

This rise in Russian-flagged vessels comes in response to intensified operations by European countries and the United States aimed at detaining and seizing tankers believed to be involved in transporting Russian oil in violation of sanctions. Many ships have reportedly been operating under so-called “false flags”—registering with other countries as a means to evade detection and interdiction by Western authorities. These vessels are often uninsured and considered stateless, thus vulnerable to seizure.

Western authorities have implemented stricter maritime protocols to counteract what they describe as efforts to circumvent trade restrictions. Since late 2023, the UK and European Union have sanctioned more than 650 ships implicated in carrying oil from Russia, Iran, or Venezuela, with at least 23 vessels sailing under false flags detained since December 2024. One high-profile incident involved the seizure of the Russian tanker Smyrtos in June 2026 by British forces in international waters near the English Channel. The ship’s master, an Indian national, was subsequently charged with facilitating the delivery of prohibited Russian oil.

As interdiction efforts against vessels under false flags have intensified, the number of these “shadow fleet” ships has declined, dropping to 45 by the end of June 2026 from a peak of 101 in October 2025. However, as their options have diminished, many of these vessels have registered under the Russian flag, thereby gaining immunity from seizure by European navies, according to CREA. The organization notes that 87 percent of vessels added to the Russian registry during this period were already subject to sanctions.

Historically, these “shadow” vessels had preferred to register with open registries—such as Panama, Comoros, Barbados, and Palau—due to low fees, limited regulation, and opaque ownership structures. Yet increasing pressure from sanctioning countries has led many of these flag states to impose stricter controls or remove sanctioned vessels from their registries altogether. For example, Barbados and Palau have eliminated all sanctioned “shadow” ships from their registries, while Panama has reduced its sanctioned vessels by nearly two-thirds since May 2025. Similar action by Cameroon, which cut more than 30 ships, facilitated the UK’s enforcement operation against the Smyrtos tanker.

Russian President Vladimir Putin condemned Western maritime crackdowns, describing them as acts of “piracy and robbery.” The Kremlin’s expansion of its ship registry reflects an ongoing effort to adapt to evolving enforcement measures and sustain the flow of oil revenues despite mounting international restrictions.