Albania bars tanker linked to Putin associate from entering port

Albania has barred the Hanuman tanker, part of Russia's shadow fleet, from entering the port of Durrës. The vessel has links to Gennady Timchenko, a friend of Russian leader Vladimir Putin.

Source: Defence Intelligence of Ukraine (DIU)

Details: DIU reported that on 29 August 2026, Albania barred the oil tanker Hanuman from entering the port of Durrës after Ukrainian intelligence had previously identified the vessel as part of Russia's shadow fleet.

"The Hanuman has long been under close monitoring by Ukrainian military intelligence," DIU said.

On 26 January 2026, DIU added the tanker to the War&Sanctions portal database as an active member of Russia's shadow fleet.

"The scale of the Hanuman's activities is striking: since the beginning of 2025, the tanker has exported at least 452,000 tonnes of Russian fuel," DIU said.

The vessel's routes ran from the port of Novorossiysk to Türkiye, Senegal and the UAE and a transshipment area near the Italian city of Augusta.

The Russian company Altoprae Marine, based in Novorossiysk, provided logistical support for these voyages.

Ukrainian intelligence said the company was founded and is managed by a senior executive linked to sanctioned Russian oligarch Gennady Timchenko, a close associate of Russian leader Vladimir Putin.

The company is known for regularly servicing "shadow fleet" tankers, including the Eventin, which is subject to sanctions imposed by the EU, Switzerland, the US, the UK, Canada and Ukraine.

"Altoprae Marine is involved in the operations of vessels belonging to Rosewood Shipping, a company owned by Oksana Marchenko, the wife of Viktor Medvedchuk, who has been charged with treason, is a close associate of Putin and is suspected of plundering Ukrainian resources," DIU said.

DIU stressed that by using high-risk and deceptive shipping practices, the shadow fleet helps the Kremlin circumvent international sanctions and "channel profits from oil sales into fuelling Russia's war machine".

The vessels switch off their tracking systems, carry out dangerous manoeuvres and generally fail to meet modern environmental standards.

Background:

• It was previously reported that the Russian and Iranian shadow fleets continue to use fake websites to produce forged documents and imitate ship registries, maritime authorities and seafarers' organisations in African countries.
• The EU previously authorised military personnel in the Mediterranean involved in Operation Irini, which aims to prevent illegal arms shipments to Libya, to also inspect tankers suspected of transporting Russian oil.
• A Swedish court previously ruled that the seizure of the cargo vessel Caffa in the Baltic Sea was lawful and allowed it to be transferred to Ukraine as part of an investigation into the removal of grain from Russian-occupied Ukrainian territories.

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