Legal vessels can and do also use the area. But much of the tight cluster bears the hallmarks of the dark fleet. They are operating at 20 years old or more — an age at which most legitimate vessels would have been scrapped — and with insurance from unknown entities or even Russia’s Ingosstrakh. Flag states include landlocked Eswatini and Mongolia, or others listed as concerning by the International Maritime Organization (IMO).

Merchant ships will very often sail under what are known as open registries in countries that are unrelated to where the vessels are beneficially owned. This can be to make compliance with international maritime regulations more efficient and cost effective. Those so-called flag states have an important role to play in ensuring industry safety standards.¹⁾

The Paris MOU, an international framework used by the industry, classifies flags into white, grey and black, depending on how well they perform in inspections. Reporters United and Investigate Europe analysis of Marine Traffic and Equasis shipping data shows at least seven ships sailed under ‘grey’ or ‘black’ flags during STS trades off Greece in recent weeks. Industry watchers have warned that the shadow fleet, which numbers several hundred vessels, is “flocking to registries that will hold them to a lower standard”.²⁾