Shadow fleet shipments of crude oil and oil products from Baltic Sea ports rose 16% as Russia’s overall seaborne oil exports fell

According to the September edition of the Russian Shadow Fleet Tracker by KSE Institute, in August 2026 Russian seaborne exports of crude oil and oil products stood at around 4.9 mb/d, down 6.1% m-o-m and 12.4% y-o-y. Russia used 258 unique tankers to export oil, including 166, or 64%, shadow fleet tankers. Shadow fleet exports increased by 1.8% m-o-m and 3.6% y-o-y. Tankers older than 15 years accounted for 92% of shadow fleet tankers used in August.

Shadow tankers transported the largest volumes of crude oil and oil products from Pacific Ocean ports, which accounted for 45% of shipments, and Baltic Sea ports, with 40%. Russian exports from Baltic Sea ports stood at around 2.5 mb/d, up 6.5% m-o-m but down 2.2% y-o-y. Shadow fleet exports from Baltic Sea ports increased by 16% m-o-m and by 27% y-o-y.

China and India remained the main destinations for crude oil and oil products transported by the shadow fleet, accounting for 39% and 25%, respectively. For 32% of shadow fleet shipments, the destination could not be identified at the time of the study. From Baltic Sea ports, India accounted for 48% of shipments and Singapore for 2%, while the destination could not be identified for 47%. During June–August, the top identified buyer of crude oil transported by shadow fleet vessels was Indian Oil Corporation, while Bingang Liquefied Chemicals was the top identified buyer of oil products. The top identified seller of crude oil was UAE-based Redwood Global Supply FZE LLC, while Russia’s Rosneft was the top identified seller of oil products.

Chinese and Russian ship managers jointly handled 64% of shadow fleet exports, with Chinese companies handling 42% and Russian companies 22%. The top 10 ship managers handled 29% of total volumes. Russia and Sierra Leone were the leading flag states for the shadow fleet, accounting for 32% and 23% of exports, respectively. The Equatorial Guinea flag accounted for a record 8% of shadow fleet volumes in August.

In August, 52 shadow fleet tankers, or 31% of the total, had P&I coverage from Russian insurers: AlfaStrakhovanie (18), Soglasie (17), Balance Ins (16), and ASTK (1). Of these 52 tankers, 48, or 92%, were sanctioned by at least one jurisdiction, including the EU, US, UK, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand, while 15, or 29%, sailed under the Russian flag.