Russia's shadow fleet equipped with Starlink – Kyiv Independent

Russia's shadow fleet, which transports sanctioned oil, is making extensive use of modern Western technologies, including the Starlink satellite system.

Source: Kyiv Independent

Details: Journalists established that Russia's shadow fleet uses Starlink and cryptocurrency. Starlink terminals continue to provide communication and coordination for the tankers.

"The vessels are old, their hulls streaked with rust, and their ownership obscured behind layers of shell companies. Yet the tankers that make up Russia's so-called shadow fleet, the armada used to move sanctioned oil across the globe, are kept running with modern Western technology including Starlink," the publication states.

Spare parts for the fleet and technical services are frequently processed through intermediaries, including companies based in China, Namibia and Oman.

This helps conceal the origin and final destination of the equipment needed to keep the vessels operational, the Kyiv Independent reports.

Using SpaceX, captains receive covert instructions from shadow owners to conduct ship-to-ship oil transfer operations in open waters.

Such manoeuvres are carried out with AIS transponders fully disabled, making the vessels invisible to monitoring services, but Starlink allows perfect communication to be maintained, the publication notes.

The shadow fleet also makes extensive use of GPS spoofing – the substitution of GPS signals – to conceal the tankers.

At the same time, cryptocurrencies are actively used for financial settlements within this network, allowing transactions to be concealed from Western banks, the Kyiv Independent writes.

Background:

• Russian clients have no need to lie to Chinese exporters about the supposedly non-military purpose of components: the Chinese knowingly disregard Chinese law and themselves propose schemes to circumvent export restrictions.
• Hong Kong has become a key logistics and financial hub enabling Russia to circumvent international sanctions and obtain critical Western technologies for its war in Ukraine.
• Financial Times previously identified 48 companies that worked together to conceal the origin of Russian oil, including that exported by Rosneft.
• Investigative journalists found that Russian subsidiaries of French agro-industrial group Sucden provided direct support to the Russian armed forces between 2023 and 2025.
• Germany's Federal Prosecutor's Office previously announced the detention of five individuals accused of establishing a network that exported goods to Russian defence companies in violation of European Union sanctions.

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