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Sanctions at Sea: A Study of the Russian Shadow Fleet’s Exploitation of Legal Gaps in International Maritime Law

Brühl, Dorothea Mai LU (2025) LAGF03 20252
Department of Law
Faculty of Law
Abstract
In response to Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, EU and allied G7 countries implemented extensive sanctions regimes targeting Russian oil and petroleum products. To circumvent these sanctions, Russia has increasingly relied on a parallel fleet operating without Western ties – a shadow fleet – which has come to play an important role in funding the Russian war effort. Shadow fleet vessels employ a range of tactics to conceal their operations and cargo, while raising concerns in relation to maritime safety, security, and environmental protection. The Russian shadow fleet has thus emerged as a significant challenge to the international maritime legal framework and the effectiveness of sanctions regimes. Applying a legal dogmatic... (More)
In response to Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, EU and allied G7 countries implemented extensive sanctions regimes targeting Russian oil and petroleum products. To circumvent these sanctions, Russia has increasingly relied on a parallel fleet operating without Western ties – a shadow fleet – which has come to play an important role in funding the Russian war effort. Shadow fleet vessels employ a range of tactics to conceal their operations and cargo, while raising concerns in relation to maritime safety, security, and environmental protection. The Russian shadow fleet has thus emerged as a significant challenge to the international maritime legal framework and the effectiveness of sanctions regimes. Applying a legal dogmatic method, this essay examines how shadow fleet operations exploit legal gaps in international maritime regulations, as well as structural weaknesses in the flag State obligations regime established under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS).

The essay focuses on the principles of ship nationality and registration, the requirement of a genuine link between a State and vessels flying its flag, and exclusive flag State jurisdiction on the high seas. While UNCLOS assigns primary regulatory and enforcement responsibility to flag States, the lack of a clear definition of the genuine link and the absence of effective international enforcement mechanisms allow certain States to offer registration without exercising substantial control. The essay also demonstrates how the use of fraudulent or non-existent registries, as well as poorly managed open registries, undermines the effectiveness of flag State control.

The results of the analysis show that the shadow fleet problem is not solely a matter of substandard vessels, but increasingly one of substandard or unwilling flag States. In the absence of an international framework capable of holding flag States accountable for persistent failures to enforce their obligations, the current maritime regulatory system remains vulnerable to exploitation. (Less)
Abstract (Swedish)
Som en reaktion på Rysslands fullskaliga invasion av Ukraina har EU och allierade G7-länder infört omfattande sanktioner riktade mot rysk olja och petroleumprodukter. För att kringgå dessa sanktioner har Ryssland i allt större utsträckning förlitat sig på en parallell flotta – en så kallad skuggflotta – som har kommit att spela en betydande roll i finansieringen av den ryska krigföringen. Skuggflottans fartyg använder en rad metoder för att dölja sin verksamhet och last, samtidigt som de medför risker för maritim säkerhet och miljön. Den ryska skuggflottan utgör därmed en betydande utmaning för det internationella sjörättsliga ramverket och sanktionsregimernas effektivitet. Med utgångspunkt i rättsdogmatisk metod undersöker denna uppsats... (More)
Som en reaktion på Rysslands fullskaliga invasion av Ukraina har EU och allierade G7-länder infört omfattande sanktioner riktade mot rysk olja och petroleumprodukter. För att kringgå dessa sanktioner har Ryssland i allt större utsträckning förlitat sig på en parallell flotta – en så kallad skuggflotta – som har kommit att spela en betydande roll i finansieringen av den ryska krigföringen. Skuggflottans fartyg använder en rad metoder för att dölja sin verksamhet och last, samtidigt som de medför risker för maritim säkerhet och miljön. Den ryska skuggflottan utgör därmed en betydande utmaning för det internationella sjörättsliga ramverket och sanktionsregimernas effektivitet. Med utgångspunkt i rättsdogmatisk metod undersöker denna uppsats hur skuggflottans verksamhet utnyttjar rättsliga luckor i internationella sjörättsregler samt strukturella svagheter i regelverket kring flaggstatsskyldigheter enligt Förenta nationernas havsrättskonvention (UNCLOS).

Uppsatsen fokuserar på bestämmelserna om fartygsnationalitet och fartygsregistrering, kravet på en genuin koppling (genuine link) mellan en stat och fartyg som för dess flagg, samt principen om exklusiv flaggstatsjurisdiktion på det fria havet. Trots att UNCLOS ålägger flaggstaterna det primära tillsyns- och verkställighetsansvaret möjliggör avsaknaden av en tydlig definition av den genuina kopplingen, och bristen på effektiva internationella verkställighetsmekanismer, att vissa stater kan erbjuda registrering utan att utöva faktisk kontroll. Uppsatsen visar även hur användningen av falska eller icke-existerande register, liksom bristfälligt administrerade öppna register, underminerar effektiviteten av flaggstatskontroll.

Analysens resultat visar att skuggflotteproblematiken inte enbart rör undermåliga fartyg, utan i allt högre grad även undermåliga eller ovilliga flaggstater. I avsaknad av ett internationellt ramverk som kan hålla flaggstater ansvariga för ihållande underlåtenhet att fullgöra sina skyldigheter förblir det nuvarande sjörättsliga systemet sårbart för utnyttjande. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
author
Brühl, Dorothea Mai LU
supervisor
organization
course
LAGF03 20252
year
type
M2 - Bachelor Degree
subject
keywords
public international law, law of the sea
language
English
id
9216746
date added to LUP
2026-02-09 14:32:17
date last changed
2026-02-09 14:32:17
@misc{9216746,
  abstract     = {{In response to Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, EU and allied G7 countries implemented extensive sanctions regimes targeting Russian oil and petroleum products. To circumvent these sanctions, Russia has increasingly relied on a parallel fleet operating without Western ties – a shadow fleet – which has come to play an important role in funding the Russian war effort. Shadow fleet vessels employ a range of tactics to conceal their operations and cargo, while raising concerns in relation to maritime safety, security, and environmental protection. The Russian shadow fleet has thus emerged as a significant challenge to the international maritime legal framework and the effectiveness of sanctions regimes. Applying a legal dogmatic method, this essay examines how shadow fleet operations exploit legal gaps in international maritime regulations, as well as structural weaknesses in the flag State obligations regime established under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS).

The essay focuses on the principles of ship nationality and registration, the requirement of a genuine link between a State and vessels flying its flag, and exclusive flag State jurisdiction on the high seas. While UNCLOS assigns primary regulatory and enforcement responsibility to flag States, the lack of a clear definition of the genuine link and the absence of effective international enforcement mechanisms allow certain States to offer registration without exercising substantial control. The essay also demonstrates how the use of fraudulent or non-existent registries, as well as poorly managed open registries, undermines the effectiveness of flag State control.

The results of the analysis show that the shadow fleet problem is not solely a matter of substandard vessels, but increasingly one of substandard or unwilling flag States. In the absence of an international framework capable of holding flag States accountable for persistent failures to enforce their obligations, the current maritime regulatory system remains vulnerable to exploitation.}},
  author       = {{Brühl, Dorothea Mai}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  note         = {{Student Paper}},
  title        = {{Sanctions at Sea: A Study of the Russian Shadow Fleet’s Exploitation of Legal Gaps in International Maritime Law}},
  year         = {{2025}},
}