Topic
Russia
Every Vessel Hunter story on Russia: 68 stories, from 21 August 2026 to 12 October 2026. Newest: "Abandoned Capesize Emil drifts into Bulgarian waters two months after drone strike". Each story links to the ships and ports it names, so a name in the text opens the record behind it.
Abandoned Capesize Emil drifts into Bulgarian waters two months after drone strike
The bulk carrier Emil, abandoned off Odesa after a Russian drone strike on 5 August, has drifted into Bulgaria's economic zone with no salvage under way.
Busan manager IOB takes over four Arc4 LNG carriers once built for MOL
Busan-based IOB has started operations with four 174,000 cu m Arc4 LNG carriers built for MOL and plans to add three to six Arc7 ships in 2027.
Aframax Rio burns off Sochi after uncrewed boat attack; 23 crew rescued
The Liberia-flagged tanker Aframax Rio caught fire off Sochi on 6 October after an attack by uncrewed boats. All 23 Indian crew were rescued and local beaches were closed.
Japan sanctions 35 shadow fleet ships in its first vessel designations
Japan has designated 35 ships tied to Russian oil exports, its first sanctions on individual vessels: services, financing and crew supply now need permission.
Alfa Watan sinks off Bulgaria a day after Royad Mammadov is lost off Romania
A drone strike sank the Togo-flagged Alfa Watan and set the grain-laden Able on fire off Bulgaria, a day after Royad Mammadov sank off Romania with two dead.
Russia detains Estonia-bound cargo ship Västerbotten in the Gulf of Finland
Russian border guards detained the Cyprus-flagged general cargo ship Västerbotten in the Gulf of Finland on 1 October as she sailed from Sweden to Sillamäe in Estonia.
UK sanctions three Arc7 LNG carriers, including Pyotr Stolypin before her delivery
The UK has sanctioned the Arc7 LNG carriers Aleksey Kosygin, Konstantin Posiet and Pyotr Stolypin, the third still on sea trials, in a 1 October package that listed eight ships.
Sanctioned tankers move to the Russian flag as Europe cuts false flags by half
Europe's detentions have cut the shadow fleet ships flying false flags from 101 to 45, but 107 vessels have moved to the Russian registry since January 2025, most of them already sanctioned.
Russian cargo ship Yuriy Arshenevskiy sails from Tobruk to Turkish waters after arms delivery
The Russian-flagged Yuriy Arshenevskiy left Tobruk after a convoy delivered military vehicles to eastern Libya, passed the Dardanelles and turned for Tuzla short of the Bosporus.
Master Killed in Black Sea Drone Attack as Turkey Circulates Truce Text
A drone strike on a Ukraine-bound Tanzanian-flagged cargo ship killed the master and injured three crew, days after Turkey handed Russia and Ukraine a draft memorandum on ending attacks on merchant shipping.
EU Ports Took 156 Yamal Cargoes in Eight Months Before the January Ban
EU ports received 156 Yamal LNG shipments totalling 11.39m tonnes in the first eight months of 2026, 10% more than a year earlier, three months before the import ban takes effect.
Dubai Tower Reaches Teesport on the Arctic Route From China
The containership Dubai Tower has arrived at Teesport after sailing from Ningbo through the Arctic, the first of eight Northern Sea Route crossings planned this season.
Albania Turns Away Shadow Fleet Tanker Hanuman at Durres
Albanian authorities refused the product tanker Hanuman entry to Durres after Ukrainian military intelligence identified it as part of Russia's shadow fleet.
Rosatom and NewNew Advance Five Arc7 Boxships for Arctic Run
Rosatom and NewNew Shipping are advancing five Arc7 ice-class container ships for year-round Northern Sea Route service, with Murmansk under consideration as home port.
Hanwha Ocean faces a second billion-dollar claim over Arctic LNG 2 ships
LLC Arctic LNG 2 is seeking about 1.37 trillion won from Hanwha Ocean over three cancelled ice-class LNG carriers, on top of the shipowners' existing claim.
Maritime Briefing of 8 September 2026
The day in shipping: Rosneft opens its Arctic export terminal, fire hits the icebreaker Admiral Makarov, Panama defers a draft cut, and a sanctioned roro is struck off Crete.
Sanctioned Russian Roro Lady Mariia Reported Struck by Drones off Crete
The sanctioned Russian roro Lady Mariia was reportedly hit by drone-dropped munitions near Crete while heading east towards Syria. Neither side has confirmed the strike.
Fire Breaks Out Aboard Icebreaker Admiral Makarov During St Petersburg Refit
A fire spread across roughly 80 square metres of the icebreaker Admiral Makarov while the 1975-built vessel lay under repair in St Petersburg. No injuries were reported.
Rosneft Ships First Vostok Oil Cargo Through New Sever Bay Arctic Port
Rosneft has begun exporting crude from the Vostok Oil development through the newly built Sever Bay terminal on the Taimyr Peninsula, loading its first shuttle tanker on 5 September.
USS Delaware Surfaces at Tromso as Four Russian Submarines Go to Sea
The US Navy publicised the arrival of a Virginia class attack submarine in northern Norway during a summer in which one Russian boat after another has left the White Sea yards for trials.
EU Forces Board a Sixth Tanker in the Mediterranean for Flag Verification
Italian forces boarded the crude tanker Sun from helicopters and launches on 30 August, the sixth flag verification by EUNAVFOR IRINI since its mandate was extended this year.
Norway Seizes the Professor Molchanov at Barentsburg on a Naftogaz Crimea Claim
A Russian research vessel turned expedition cruise ship has been seized in Svalbard on behalf of Naftogaz, which holds a $4.22bn award over assets lost in Crimea in 2014.
China, Russia and Kazakhstan Weigh an Ob-Irtysh River Route to the Russian Arctic
A revived Ob-Irtysh corridor would let Chinese goods reach Russian Arctic ports at the base of the Yamal Peninsula, but ice, drought and hydropower locks stand between the plan and the cargo.
Russia Extends Its Diesel and Marine Fuel Export Ban to 30 September
Ukrainian strikes on Russian energy infrastructure have squeezed the domestic fuel market, which is the stated reason for holding the barrels at home.
Russia Puts a $116bn Price Tag on Its Trans-Arctic Transport Corridor
The RUB10trn programme covers ports, rail, inland waterways, an expanded nuclear icebreaker fleet and a much larger ice-class merchant fleet, split evenly either side of 2030.
Drone Strike Starts Fire at Ust-Luga as Yanos Refinery Halts Two Units
Ust-Luga handles crude, products, coal, LNG, gas condensate and fertilisers, and has now been targeted repeatedly since March, when at least eight storage tanks were destroyed or damaged.
Urals Crude Returns to VLCCs for Asia as Freight Costs Climb
Reduced Hormuz traffic and eased Venezuela measures have freed up part of the shadow VLCC fleet, opening the trade again.
Russia Opens Northern Sea Route Talks With India and Vietnam
The Arctic corridor cuts about 40 percent off the distance from Indian ports to Europe, and India is planning a first pilot transit in 2027.
Royal Navy Shadows Russian Escort Group Through the Channel
Russian activity around the UK is up 25 percent over the first eight months of 2026, and shadow fleet transits off Ireland's west coast have almost tripled.
Wheat Futures Reach Three-Year High as Black Sea Loadings Stall
Chicago wheat futures have risen 18 percent this month as attacks on merchant shipping shut down grain loading on both sides of the Black Sea.
Russian Flotilla Returns to the Mediterranean Bound for Tartus
A Russian naval group led by the destroyer Admiral Levchenko re-entered the Mediterranean on August 27, weeks after Moscow and Damascus agreed reduced terms at Tartus.
MSC Suspends Novorossiysk Bookings After Drone Strike on Boxship
MSC has suspended new bookings to and from Novorossiysk with immediate effect after one of its containerships was struck by a drone leaving the Russian port.
Arctic LNG 2 Fleet Grows to 18 Carriers as China Shipments Climb
Novatek and its partners now run a fleet of at least 18 gas carriers serving the sanctioned Arctic LNG 2 project, with 31 shipments delivered to China this year.
Black Sea Attacks Drive Global Grain Shipments Down Eight Percent
Global grain shipments have fallen 8 percent year on year over five weeks, driven by a 26 percent collapse in Black Sea exports as attacks on ships and port infrastructure intensify.
Deadly Fire Clouds the Launch of Russia's $10bn Amur Polymer Complex
A fire at Russia's Amur Gas Chemical Complex has killed seven workers and left nine missing, casting doubt over the launch of a polymer export stream bound largely for Asian markets.
Russian Urals Crude Tops Brent in India for First Time Since May
Russian Urals crude for October delivery to India has been offered at a premium over Dated Brent for the first time since May, as drone attacks constrain loadings from Novorossiysk.
Syria and Myanmar Appear as False Flags on Russia-Linked Tankers
Russia-linked tankers claimed Syrian and Myanmar flags for the first time in the second quarter, as the IMO's list of falsely flagged vessels climbed to 580.
Saudi Arabia Was July's Top Buyer of Russian Seaborne Fuel Oil
Saudi Arabia took 1.1 million tonnes of Russian fuel oil and VGO in July, down 18% on June, as summer power demand kept the discounted barrels flowing east.
India Plans First Northern Sea Route Cargo Voyage to Europe in 2027
India would follow China's first scheduled NSR container service and a South Korean demonstration voyage, adding a third Asian user to the Russian Arctic route.
Russia Builds an LNG Shadow Fleet Ahead of the EU's 2027 Ban
Russia is assembling a shadow fleet of LNG carriers ahead of the EU's complete ban on Russian LNG imports from January 2027, buying up ageing tonnage the industry is already retiring.
Nine Ships Struck in 24 Hours as Black Sea Grain War Escalates
Ukraine is reported to have struck as many as five bulkers around Novorossiysk while Russia claimed strikes on at least four ships, with one vessel abandoned after a drone attack set it on fire.
Putin Threatens Mirror Response To EU Seizure Of Shadow Fleet Cargoes
President Vladimir Putin has promised retaliation against any European move to seize merchant ships carrying Russian cargo, describing the measures as piracy and banditry and saying Moscow would respond in kind.
Seventy-Year-Old Dredger Helps Clear Three Million Cubic Metres From Siberian Rivers
A self-propelled dredger built seven decades ago is still working the Ob and Irtysh rivers, part of a fleet of fifteen technical vessels that has removed 3.3 million cubic metres of material during the current season.
Syria And Russia Agree A Reduced Naval Presence At Tartous
Syrian authorities have reached an agreement providing for a reduced and limited Russian presence at the naval facility at Tartous, formalising a diminution of the arrangement that gave Russia its only warm-water naval base on the
Russia Deploys Floating Sentry Positions Against Drone Attacks
Russian forces have begun deploying floating fortified sentry positions in waters where Ukrainian uncrewed surface vessels have operated, in the latest of a series of improvised measures intended to protect infrastructure and shipping
Russia Covers Pacific Submarines With Anti-Drone Netting
Satellite imagery from early August shows Russian submarines covered with anti-drone netting at a Pacific base more than seven thousand kilometres from Ukraine.
Russian Shipping Adopts Cages And Convoys Against Drone Threat
Russian operators are fitting cages and sailing in convoys to protect ships against drone attack, changing how tonnage moves in the Black Sea.
Syria Takes Control Of Tartous Berth Previously Used By Russia
Syria has taken control of a 630-metre berth at Tartous that was previously used by Russia, under an agreement announced this month.
Never miss a move
Maritime, in motion. In your inbox.
The vessel sales, incidents, and market moves worth knowing, sent as they happen.