Russian ships changed a record number of flags in their sanctioned investigation. According to maritime consultancy Windward Ltd, shipowners turned their flags from Russian-flagged ships more than ever before in March to hide their ties to Moscow and avoid sanctions.
Tel Aviv-based Windward announced that a total of 18 ships from the same fleet, including 11 cargo ships, switched from the Russian flag to other flags last month. This is more than three times the monthly average for Russian ships. Also, based on data dating back to January 2020, the figure hit double digits for the first time.
The US, UK, and other allies have increased sanctions against Russia over the Ukraine-Russia war that began in late February. US President Joe Biden issued an executive order on March 8 banning imports of Russian oil and gas, while Britain said it would phase out oil imports by the end of the year. Both countries, along with Canada, banned Russian ships from their ports.
Gür Sender, Windward product manager, said, “Foreign companies have several reasons to opt-out of the Russian flag. “Companies want their ships to be able to operate anywhere without restrictions,”
According to Windward, of the 18 ships flying the Russian flag, three are tankers, two of which are carrying oil. Eleven cargo ships belong to a United Arab Emirates company and are all ships of the same fleet. All of them went from the Russian flag to the Marshall Islands flag. The remaining three ships were replaced with the flags of Saint Kitts and Nevis.
Meanwhile, Ian Ralby, CEO of Maritime law and security consulting firm IR Consilium, explained that flag-changing will become more common if the war in Ukraine continues. Ralby also stated that ships flying the flags of the Marshall Islands and the Caribbean country of St. Kitts and Nevis are preferred because they are less likely to attract attention and make investigations.