The Daily The ‘Ghost Fleets’ Moving Oil Around the World
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Jan 27, 2026 
Christiaan Triebert, a New York Times visual investigations reporter who tracks ships, breaks down how secretive “ghost” tanker networks move sanctioned oil. He describes how vessels disappear from tracking, the deceptive tricks used to hide cargo and ownership, and why recent seizures and multinational enforcement could change how these shadow fleets operate.
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What Ghost Fleets Really Are
- Ghost fleets are tankers that use deceptive practices to hide transporting sanctioned oil from Russia, Iran, and Venezuela.
- They likely include hundreds to thousands of vessels and move most of their oil to China and India.
Scale Of The Shadow Fleet
- An estimated 10–20% of oil tankers have engaged in shadow-fleet activity, representing about 3–9% of global oil tied to Russia, Iran, and Venezuela.
- That share is significant enough to blunt sanctions' economic impact.
Why Sanctions Target These Shipments
- U.S. sanctions aim to cut revenue to regimes like Russia, Iran, and Venezuela to limit military and proxy funding.
- Despite sanctions, shadow-fleet shipments continued because enforcement had been weak until recent U.S. action.