The UK recently sanctioned four companies linked to 82 tankers engaged in the Russian oil trade. They are the most sweeping sanctions enforced by a Western government since bans on Russian crude and petroleum shipping were imposed in 2022.
Radiating World Shipping Services LLC were among the companies named and sanctioned for "propping up the war machine". The leading dark fleet operator and ship manager has since taken action to evade the UK sanctions, by moving its tankers to a newly formed company.
It continues a worrying trend of dark fleet operators engaged in Russian trades evolving their management structures to circumvent international restrictions, and creating more headaches for vessel screening teams trying to detect ownership risk.
Source: Hasenpusch photoeleven DAYS AFTER THE UK GOVERNMENT SANCTIONED RADIATING WORLD SHIPPING SERVICES IT SHIFTED COMMERCIAL AND SHIPMANAGEMENT OF FOUR TANKERS, INCLUDING OCEAN AMZ (PICTURED) TO ONE MOON MARINE SERVICES LLC.
The Dubai-based company, along with another related sanctioned company, Voyages Shipping Services, has amassed a fleet of around 26 elderly tankers since 2022 to ship Russian oil.
Radiating World is now showing as having just four tankers remaining under commercial management, while Star Voyages Shipping Services has only one of six tankers left.
Eleven days after the UK government sanctioned Radiating World Shipping Services on December 6, the company shifted commercial and ship management of four tankers to One Moon Marine Services LLC.
Other vessels were shifted to Alqutb Ashamali Marine Services and Breath Shipping Services during November, weeks before sanctions were implemented.
In all cases the single-ship company of registered ownership did not change and tankers remain flagged with the Cook Islands, indicating that beneficial ownership remains the same.
The lack of known ownership is a hallmark of some 530 tankers that form part of the so-called ‘dark fleet’ shipping sanctioned Iranian, Venezuelan or Russian oil.
The complicated layers of ever-changing management and operating companies to evade sanctions and obfuscate beneficial ownership discovery is routine for many of the dark fleet ship operators engaged in Russian trades.
Tankers managed and operated by Radiating World Shipping Services fleet are now spread over six separate ISM management companies from four brass plate addresses around Dubai.
Stay on top of ownership risk
It is vital to stay on top of the fast-evolving ownership structures associated with the dark fleet, to mitigate sanctions compliance risk.
The above data was sourced from Seasearcher Advanced Risk & Compliance, an industry-leading standard in compliance risk analysis. It provides an unrivalled level of insight, enabling you to save time and effort completing sanctions compliance checks, investigations and monitoring vessels for illicit activity.
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