Russia quietly grows fleet that funds its war: one shell firm in Marshall Islands buys two gas tankers from Chinese and Greek owners
Ukraine named 20 ships that move Russian oil and gas.
Ukraine has revealed a fleet of 20 vessels that transport Russian oil and liquefied natural gas, as well as refuel the sanctioned fleet, which finances the Kremlin's war efforts. Of these 20 ships, only one is subject to US restrictions, while the rest face sanctions from Britain and Ukraine. Russia's hidden fleet consists of approximately 500 aging ships with uncertain ownership, adept at evading sanctions and perpetuating the oil trade that generates over 80 billion euros annually.
The flagship vessel of this covert fleet is the Russian ship Portovyy, an LNG carrier and floating gas store owned by Gazprom since 2021. On August 15, 2026, the ship departed from the Gulf of Finland, laden with Russian LNG, sailing via the Northern Sea Route to the Chinese port of Beihai for unloading. Currently, the Portovyy is undergoing maintenance at the Zhoushan Huafeng Shipyard in China, a foreign yard that Ukraine aims to disallow for the sanctioned fleet.
Amid the expansion of the fleet, two additional gas carriers illustrate Russia's growth in spring 2026 through the use of front companies. The Avacha, formerly owned by China's Jovo Energy, was acquired by Tudor Maritime of the Marshall Islands, who subsequently assigned it a Russian flag in June. The Avacha now transports gas from the Arctic LNG 2 project to Beihai.
Similarly, the Chaivo, originally owned by Greece's Maran Gas Maritime, was also purchased by Tudor Maritime and reflagged in July. It currently carries cargo to Beihai from a floating gas storage facility off Kamchatka.
Intelligence agencies urge international partners to collaborate in tightening control over sales of commercially owned ships, preventing the servicing of the sanctioned fleet at foreign yards, and severing the revenue flow from energy that Russia converts into weapons against civilians. Russia is concurrently constructing ice-class ships domestically while simultaneously augmenting its shadow fleet through offshore networks.
The UK Foreign Office echoed these concerns on October 1, stating that Moscow is constructing a new shadow fleet to maintain its gas revenues.
Written by urgent.news from Euromaidan Press's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
