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                    "The number of shadow-fleet vessels carrying Russian oil and LNG through the Northern Sea Route has surged this summer, according to a new analysis by Bellona\u2019s Environmental Transparency Center, raising concerns about the ability to respond to accidents in one of the world\u2019s most remote shipping environments.\n\n\n\nBellona has identified more sanctioned oil tankers and LNG carriers on Russia\u2019s Northern Sea Route in the first two months of the 2026 navigation season than during the whole of 2025, with many vessels lacking meaningful ice capability and information about accidents increasingly difficult to obtain.\n\n\n\nThe organization counted 50 shadow-fleet oil tankers and 18 shadow-fleet LNG carriers on the NSR between the start of the summer-autumn navigation season and mid-September. That compares with 38 oil tankers and 13 LNG carriers identified during the entire 2025 season.\n\n\n\nThe increase is particularly striking because the 2026 figures cover only about two months of navigation. Bellona said the number of shadow-fleet vessels using the route has increased for three consecutive years.\n\n\n\nShadow fleet on the NSR in 2025 and July-Sep 2026. (Source: Bellona)\n\n\n\nSanctioned vessels accounted for about three-quarters of all oil tankers and almost 40% of LNG carriers observed on the route during the period, according to Bellona\u2019s monitoring.\n\n\n\nThe vessels also raise questions about their suitability for Arctic navigation.\n\n\n\nOf the 50 shadow-fleet oil tankers identified, 26 have an ice class of Ice3 or lower, or no ice class at all, Bellona said. Thirty-three are at least 15 years old.\n\n\n\nMost of the oil tankers sail under the Russian flag, while six are registered in Oman and one in Sierra Leone.\n\n\n\nThe LNG carriers are generally newer and better equipped for Arctic operations, but Bellona still identified two with a low ice class and six with no ice class at all. Five of the 18 are more than 15 years old. Most sail under the Russian flag, while two are registered in the Marshall Islands and two in Oman.\n\n\n\nOne vessel stands out: the Clean Vision, an Arc4 LNG carrier that continues to sail under the Maltese flag despite being sanctioned by the United Kingdom and Canada.\n\n\n\nThe 2016-built vessel has been registered in Malta since 2016. The UK designated it in October 2025 over its involvement in transporting Russian LNG, while Canada sanctioned it in June 2026.\n\n\n\nThe Maltese flag has not been removed because sanctions imposed by the UK and Canada do not automatically require Malta to de-register the vessel. Malta\u2019s Sanctions Monitoring Board says that Malta is bound by EU and UN sanctions but that sanctions imposed unilaterally by other states are not applicable in Malta, although operators are advised to consider the potential secondary effects.\n\n\n\nThe growth in traffic has also brought vessels with limited Arctic capability into difficult ice conditions.\n\n\n\nIn late July, at least nine shadow-fleet oil tankers gathered in the Kara Sea waiting to transit the Vilkitsky Strait. Seven had low ice classes, while only two were Arc4 vessels. Two Russian nuclear-powered icebreakers, Ural and Sibir, were operating in the area.\n\n\n\nOnly the Arc4-class Breeze initially managed to pass the strait. Other tankers were forced to take an unusually high-latitude route north of the Severnaya Zemlya archipelago before again requiring icebreaker assistance in the Laptev Sea. The detour added roughly 550 nautical miles and caused delays of between seven and 14 days, according to Bellona.\n\n\n\nThe growing traffic is particularly concerning because the public may have little way of knowing when something goes wrong.\n\n\n\nBellona notes that Russia\u2019s Northern Sea Route administration has stopped publishing information about incidents and accidents along the route since 2025. It has also stopped providing the daily operational information and reports on incidents and rule violations that previously provided an important source of information about activity on the route.\n\n\n\nThere is evidence that an accident may already have occurred without being publicly reported.\n\n\n\nRussian insurer AlfaStrakhovanie recently disclosed that it had paid compensation for damage to a tanker hull following an accident while the vessel was sailing along the Northern Sea Route under icebreaker escort. The insurer did not identify the vessel, disclose the date or location, or say whether oil products had entered the marine environment. Bellona said the accident could have occurred during the 2026 season or the previous year.\n\n\n\nThat lack of transparency compounds the environmental risk posed by an expanding fleet of older and poorly insured vessels.\n\n\n\n\u201cThe rapid growth of shadow-fleet traffic on the Northern Sea Route poses a serious risk to the Arctic,\u201d Ksenia Vakhrusheva, Arctic Policy Advisor at Bellona ETC, said in the organization\u2019s analysis. \u201cThe public may not even learn if a serious incident occurs.\u201d\n\n\n\nBellona identified at least 14 shadow-fleet oil tankers carrying oil to China or other Asian destinations. On the LNG side, at least 11 shadow-fleet carriers loaded at the Utrenniy terminal serving the sanctioned Arctic LNG 2 project.\n\n\n\nThe figures are likely to rise further. The 2026 summer-autumn navigation season is expected to continue until mid-to-late October, and some vessels that entered the NSR in July could make a second passage before the season ends.\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t                \n\n\n\t\tSubscribe for Daily Maritime Insights\n\t\tSign up for gCaptain\u2019s newsletter and never miss an update\n        \u2014 trusted by our 107,122 members"
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