The European Union and the UK have sanctioned a UAE-based company that operates two different flag registries used by the Russian “shadow fleet,” the flags of Gabon and Comoros. Whether or not the designation affects the operations of anonymous, Russia-facing tanker operators, it highlights the commercial arrangements enabling Russian oil exports.
The company, Intershipping Services LLC, is headquartered in a modern condominium tower in a Dubai suburb. Both flag registries it markets are linked to sanctions evasion, with Gabon being particularly active since the invasion of Ukraine. The Gabon registry absorbed many Russia-linked ships that had become liabilities for other registries, including a large portion of the Sovcomflot fleet. In 2024, the influx of Russian tonnage made Gabon the world’s fastest-growing shipping register. Gabon was also the flag state of the notorious Iran-linked tanker *Pablo*, which exploded off Malaysia in 2023.
According to the EU, Intershipping Services LLC also operates the Comoros registry through its owner’s family connections and a subsidiary office in Mumbai. Comoros has flagged vessels evading G7 sanctions while transporting Russian crude oil and is well-known in enforcement circles. It is on the Paris MOU’s blacklist for frequent vessel detentions, deemed “high risk” by the U.S. Coast Guard, and ranks among the top three flags in crew abandonment cases, per the ITF. Comoros also features prominently among flag states linked to Iranian oil trafficking, according to United Against a Nuclear Iran (UANI).
Since shadow fleet vessels appear on the Gabon and Comoros registers, the EU noted that high-risk shipping practices—such as inadequate insurance, AIS manipulation, and safety regulation evasion through opaque corporate structures—are also prevalent.
Allianz reports that the global shadow fleet serving sanctioned states—Iran, Russia, and Venezuela—now accounts for about 17% of all tanker tonnage. Russia has driven the fleet’s rapid expansion, using over 300 less-regulated tankers to transport oil to clients in India and China.
“They’re essentially like a tumor on the global shipping system,” Elisabeth Braw, a senior fellow at the Atlantic Council, told *Marketplace*.
