Russian tankers are conducting ship-to-ship (STS) oil transfers in the Baltic Sea near Kaliningrad to obfuscate the origin of oil shipments and evade sanctions. Multiple sanctioned tankers, including BHILVA, CAI YUN, GARASAN, THRON, NIGHT GLORY, ATMOS, PATE and potentially ELYTE, have been identified engaging in this activity. These operations are occurring mostly outside territorial waters but within the Russian Exclusive Economic Zone. The tankers employ AIS spoofing and turn off transponders to avoid tracking. This practice raises significant environmental risks such as oil spills, and signals attempts to circumvent international sanctions on Russian oil exports.

Russian tankers are conducting ship-to-ship (STS) oil transfers in the Baltic Sea near Kaliningrad to obfuscate the origin of oil shipments and evade sanctions. Multiple sanctioned tankers, including BHILVA, CAI YUN, GARASAN, THRON, NIGHT GLORY, ATMOS, PATE and potentially ELYTE, have been identified engaging in this activity. These operations are occurring mostly outside territorial waters but within the Russian Exclusive Economic Zone. The tankers employ AIS spoofing and turn off transponders to avoid tracking. This practice raises significant environmental risks such as oil spills, and signals attempts to circumvent international sanctions on Russian oil exports.