Russia's fleet of ships sailing under its flag has grown by 36 per cent since January 2025, reaching 382 vessels by the end of June 2026, as Moscow works to keep oil and gas flowing despite western sanctions.

The expansion comes as Europe and the US intensify enforcement against stateless vessels, detaining at least 23 shadow fleet ships sailing under "false" flags since December 2024, according to maritime analyst Windward AI. More than 80 per cent of vessels joining the Russian registry were already under sanctions, the Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air found.

"The Russian flag registry has become a one-way refuge for sanctioned vessels: for every ship that leaves, roughly nine enter," said Luke Wickenden, energy analyst at CREA. Moscow issued a presidential decree in June to ease registration under the Russian flag.

However, recent months have seen a slowdown in Russian-flag sign-ups. More than 50 new vessels have listed under Equatorial Guinea's reopened flag registry, all certified by the Russian Maritime Register of Shipping, according to Michelle Wiese Bockmann of Windward.