Investigation Finds Russian Military Veterans Aboard Sanctioned Oil Tankers

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A new investigation by the Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP) and partner news organizations has found that Russia is placing men with military and intelligence backgrounds aboard oil tankers used to transport sanctioned crude through the Baltic Sea.

Reporters analyzed crew lists from 20 tanker voyages and found that ships leaving Russian Baltic ports often carried two additional Russian men listed as “supernumeraries,” meaning they were not part of the standard operating crew. Of the 17 Russian men identified without maritime credentials, at least 13 were linked to security organizations such as the Wagner Group, Russian paratrooper units, or the GRU, Russia’s military intelligence service.

European intelligence officials told reporters these teams appear to serve as covert “vessel protection” personnel intended to discourage authorities from Baltic Sea nations from boarding or seizing ships tied to Russia’s so-called shadow fleet — the network of vessels used to move oil despite Western sanctions.

One example cited in the investigation involved the tanker Kira K, which departed the Russian port of Ust-Luga in December 2025 carrying more than 700,000 barrels of crude oil linked to the sanctioned energy company Lukoil. Crew records show two Russian nationals listed as supernumeraries aboard the vessel who were later identified as having connections to the Wagner Group.

The investigation found the additional personnel began appearing regularly on Baltic Sea voyages in mid-2025. The pattern was not observed on similar routes from Russia’s Black Sea or Pacific ports.

Russia relies heavily on Baltic shipping routes for oil exports, which remain a major source of revenue for the country despite sanctions imposed after the invasion of Ukraine. Analysts say the presence of individuals with military backgrounds aboard these tankers could raise the stakes for European authorities attempting to inspect or intervene with ships suspected of sanctions violations.

“Russia sees the shadow fleet as a very important economic lever,” said Estonian Navy Commander Ivo Värk, adding Russia’s naval presence in the Baltic has quadrupled since 2022.

“For them, it is a matter of high national interest. Russia is prepared to protect this by all means.”

For Sean Wiswesser, a former CIA senior operations officer with a specialization in the Russian intelligence services and military, the trend suggests Moscow is also using its shadow fleet vessels as platforms for “sabotage” and “other intelligence operations, like potentially deploying drones.”

“It’s definitely not just about protecting Russia’s oil,” he said. “Nowhere else in the world have there been as many cable cuts, and in a short time, as there have been in the past two years in the Baltic Sea.”

The reporting was conducted by OCCRP in collaboration with journalists from Delfi, Helsingin Sanomat, and iStories using crew manifests, leaked databases, and open-source information to verify the identities and backgrounds of the personnel involved.

(AI was used in part to facilitate this article.)