Shadow fleet industry enables sanctions evasion for North Korea, Russia, and Iran

A growing ‘shadow fleet’ industry is being used by sanctioned nations to evade international restrictions. North Korea has utilized tactics such as disabling the Automatic Identification System (AIS) to hide the locations of oil tankers. By turning off these tracking machines, ships can vanish from global maps and reappear in different locations to deliver prohibited cargo, such as oil, in violation of UN sanctions.

International relations professor Justin Hastings notes that the vastness of the oceans and legal protections for vessels on the high seas make enforcement difficult. He describes the current maritime environment as the ‘Wild West.’ Furthermore, other nations including Russia and Iran have reportedly adopted similar methods to conduct large-scale sanctions evasion campaigns. While interdicting these vessels is a potential deterrent, the process remains expensive and dangerous for authorities.