Russia-linked tankers ‘going dark’

Shipping analysts Windward see a rise in suspicious activity by Russia-affiliated vessels since start of Ukraine war

“Deceptive shipping practices and dark activity have quickly multiplied” since the start of the Ukraine war, according to maritime data analysts Windward. Oceangoing vessels are obliged to transmit their location through transponder signals at regular intervals. But there are natural gaps in coverage, since the land-based receivers are not always in range, plus some updates can be lost due to "signal collision”, particularly in busy areas. Windward defines “dark activity” as gaps in vessel-tracking data they judge to be suspicious and likely to involve illicit—particularly sanction-breaking—manoeuvres. Since the imposition of sanctions against Russia, Windward has logged an average of 6.3 da