Seatrade-Maritime: Shadow fleet attacks widen maritime risks around Russia

Published by Seatrade-Maritime

Ukraine has increased the intensity of its attacks on vessels carrying Russian crude oil, with a spate of attacks in the past week aimed at pressuring Russian oil exports.

The heightened danger for ships in the Black and Baltic Seas adds to a complex global risk environment for international shipping, with the Strait of Hormuz effectively closed due to the war in Iran, continued risk in the Red Sea from potential Houthi attacks, and the seasonal return of Somali piracy in recent days.

President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on 3 May that Ukrainian forces had struck two shadow fleet tankers near the entrance to Russia’s Black Sea port of Novorossiysk. A post later the same day claimed another Russian crude tanker had been struck in the Baltic Sea.

“These tankers were actively used for transporting oil. Now they will not be,” said Zelenskyy in a social media post.

The latest attacks follow the targeting of dark fleet tanker Marquise by Ukrainian forces on 26 April; the ship was struck by two uncrewed surface vessels in the Black Sea. “The strike impacted the stern section, including the area near the azimuth thruster and engine room, causing damage to the vessel,” Vanguard said in an update. No crew casualties were reported.

On 30 April, another vessel was struck during an attack on Ukraine’s Chornomorsk Port. Russian UAVs hit various pieces of port infrastructure as well as a Palau-flagged vessel docked at the time. The ship sustained damage with no reported injuries to the crew.

Attacks on ships by both Russia and Ukraine have escalated in 2026, adding to a tally of merchant vessels struck since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine began in 2022. As seen in the Iran war and waters around the Strait of Hormuz, commercial ships and port infrastructure are being targeted as a means of denying oil revenue to enemy nations.

In the Middle East, two attacks on ships were reported by UKMTO on 3 May. One incident involved a bulk carrier being attacked by multiple small craft off the coast of Iran while heading northbound through the Strait of Hormuz, while another report was of a tanker hit by unknown projectiles north of Fujairah. UKMTO also carried a warning from the same day after a skiff and a fishing vessel were involved in a suspicious approach to a bulk carrier in the Gulf of Aden.