The Thameside town of Grays in Essex is an unlikely feature in Russian oil supply chains. Twenty miles east of London, the town’s old courthouse, now a shared office space, is home to the international ship registry for the dual island nation of St Kitts and Nevis. That means that any ship wishing to fly the Caribbean state’s flag must go through a private British company.

Like most of Gatik’s tankers, Artemis flies the flag of St. Kitts. There are many reasons shipowners adopt flags of other countries – some to avoid paying taxes, most others to swap more robust labour and safety standards for laxer regulations. Prior to Russia’s invasion, St. Kitt’s primarily registered smaller boats like tugs, yachts, and fishing vessels. Now, it’s the flag of choice for a large portion of the shadow fleet: over 70% of Gatik’s fleet is flagged by the UK-incorporated registry. Under pressure, the registry recently announced that it would de-flag the 36 Gatik tankers on its roster.