There has been a dramatic increase in the number of sanctioned Russian ships, known as shadow fleet vessels, sailing through Irish-controlled waters, an Irish Times investigation has found.
Nineteen of these vessels have been tracked passing through, or just outside, the Irish Economic Zone (EEZ) since May. Many of the ships have exhibited unusual behaviour such as taking economically inefficient routes or sailing well outside recognised shipping lanes.
The trend has caused the Defence Forces and Department of Transport to step up monitoring of these vessels as they pass Ireland on foot of environmental and national security concerns.
Russia was hit with broad-ranging sanctions following its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022. Since then, it has increasingly relied on the shadow fleet to smuggle oil and natural gas to valuable markets in the global south.
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A shadow fleet vessel is generally defined as a ship engaged in deceptive practices to transport sanctioned oil or other cargos. In many cases, the ships are registered in small, impoverished countries which lack the means and will to enforce maritime law.
[ Why is a Russian ‘shadow fleet’ using Irish waters?Opens in new window ]
The ships are often old and in poor condition, raising significant environmental concerns.
Of the 19 ships tracked near Ireland since May, 18 were crude oil tankers. Twelve of the ships were carrying full loads of crude oil at the time.
Twelve are subject to European Union sanctions with the remainder subject to US or UK sanctions. Previously, the number of Russian ships in Irish controlled waters was more sporadic, usually amounting to a handful a month.
[ Sanctioned Russian ship intercepted by Coast Guard after docking in LouthOpens in new window ]
Some ships have caused particular alarm due to their strange behaviour. For example, in recent weeks the Sierra and Marathon tankers left a Russian port on the Baltic Sea with full loads of oil for destinations in India.
Instead of sailing through the English Channel, a quicker, safer and less expensive option, they opted to travel around the top of Ireland and into the North Atlantic.
“Vessels don’t take longer routes, especially those that include the North Atlantic, unless there’s a reason,” said Mark Douglas, a maritime domain analyst with Starboard Maritime Intelligence and a former New Zealand royal navy officer.
“The important thing about all of this is, I don’t know why this is happening and no one else does either,” he said.
One possible explanation is the UK has stepped up the monitoring of shadow fleet vessels in the English Channel.
UK officials are now challenging by radio an average of 40 shadow vessels every month off the British coast as part of a joint campaign with a group of EU countries to tackle Russian sanction busting.
Some of the oil tankers also appear to be avoiding designated areas which require them to reveal their cargos to authorities.
Officials are concerned about the environmental risks posed by these ships, which are often crewed by overworked and inexperienced crews. The clean-up costs for an oil spill from a single shadow fleet tanker could be nearly €750 million, according to recent estimates from the Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air.
There is also concern about the risk to Irish undersea cables from either deliberate or accidental damage by the ships’ anchors. There have been several such incidents in European waters in recent years.
The Air Corps and Naval Service have stepped up their monitoring of these vessels, despite their limited resources. Last week alone, an Air Corps C295 was deployed at least twice to track sanctioned vessels as they sailed through the EEZ.
In addition, the Irish Coast Guard “has instituted specific measures to monitor the presence of these vessels and passage through and out of Irish EEZ,” the Department of Transport said.
It said the coast guard is specifically concerned about the increased possibility of maritime casualty incidents “from such vessels”.
