DESPITE THE APPARENT dismantling of Gatik Ship Management, all available public domain evidence points to the Mumbai-based operators remaining number one on the list of top 10 dark fleet operators in Russia.
The 50-plus vintage tankers moved to nine different shipmanagers in the past eight months, demonstrating how nimble the business model used by anonymous shipowners in Russian oil trades can be to avoid beneficial ownership discovery.
The changes were in response to intensifying public scrutiny of Gatik, its commercial operator Buena Vista Shipping LLP, and mystery backers.
Over the past three months, Gatik tankers were de-flagged by UKincorporated St Kitts & Nevis International registry, dumped by insurer American Club and removed by Lloyd’s Register classification society for breaching Western sanctions on Russia.
Until then, Mumbai-based Gatik had been the poster child for dark fleet * shipping, spending $1.5bn over 18 months to assemble its fleet exclusively working Russian trades.
On paper, the company now manages less than a handful of vessels, according to Equasis, the International Maritime Organization and Lloyd’s List Intelligence shipping databases.
But, while tankers in the Gatik fleet no longer have the same shipmanager, there are no available indications of ownership or operating changes.
The single-ship companies incorporated in the Marshall Islands as the registered owner remain the same since they joined the dark fleet.
The replacement shipmanagers were all formed in 2022 or 2023, and exclusively manage the former Gatik tankers since they were purchased after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, mostly from European or American owners.
They are all based in India and include ARK SeaKonnect Shipmanagment LLP, Caishan Ship Management, Galena Ship Management, Gaurik Ship Management LLP, Geras Ship Management, Girik Ship Management, Orion Ship Management LLP, Nautilus Shipping (India), Plutos Ship Management, and Zidan Ship Management. All are based in India.
Commercial operator Buena Vista Shipping LLP, based in the same Mumbai shopping mall as Gatik and Girik Ship Management, remains listed as the beneficial owner of 37 tankers formerly with Gatik, according to the International Maritime Organization’s database.
Buena Vista also remains the commercial operator of 18 Gatik tankers, even though shipmanagement has been transferred elsewhere, according to the Lloyd’s List Intelligence database.
There are also 14 tankers in the dismantled Gatik shipping fleet linked to Dubai-based third-party operator LTA Shipping FZCO.
The Gatik model for shipping Russian oil with a dedicated dark fleet of shipmangers or commercial operators is replicated across the dark fleet of some 485 tankers, now deployed across sanctioned oil trades, including at least 150 shipping Russian oil.
No breaches
There is no suggestion that any of the companies or their vessels are breaching Western sanctions on Russia, or have, or conducted any illegal activity.
The US, the UK, Europe and other Western countries have banned marine service companies from shipping Russian oil, unless it complies with an oil price cap imposed on crude from December 5 and refined products since February 5.
Dubai-based Wanta Shipping, Swiss-based Fractal Shipping SA and its UAE-linked company Fractal Marine DMCC form the second-largest dark fleet.
Both Fractal Shipping SA and Fractal Marine DMCC are owned by Mathieu Philippe, and Fractal Marine DMCC commercially manages the fleet, Fractal Shipping told Lloyd’s List in an emailed response to questions.
Fractal disputes the characterisation of their operations as being part of the dark fleet. Fractal Shipping has stated that it operates in full compliance with all legal requirements, in a transparent manner and in accordance with the current sanctions regime and industry norms.
Fractal’s lawyers have also stressed that the company is “not involved in circumventing tactics nor engaged in disguising cargo origins or destinations.”
Fractal Marine is listed as the commercial operator of 25 tankers, including five that are not listed on the Fractal SA website, according to the Equasis and Lloyd’s List Intelligence database.
Fractal Marine is listed as the commercial operator of 25 tankers, including five that are not listed on the Fractal SA website, according to the Equasis and Lloyd’s List Intelligence database.
Fractal said that the current version of the website was temporary and the list of ships managed by Fractal Marie would be updated.
UAE-based Wanta Shipping LLC is the ISM manager for all tankers listed in the Fractal SA fleet.
The company manages 27 tankers of 2m dwt, according to databases.
Most of the Wanta Shipping vessels had two interim shipmanagers for a matter of weeks or days immediately after their purchase, by their anonymous owner.
These were Hong Kong-based Ship Management Services Limited, followed by UAE-based Macario Shipping.
The prior commercial operator when these tankers were managed by Macario Shipping and Ship Management Services was Dubai-based Koban Shipping, according to analysis of vessel databases.
Ship Management Services was an interim ISM manager for a matter of days or weeks for nine tankers that subsequently moved to Macario and/or Wanta Shipping.
Macario Shipping managed 11 tankers through October and April before their Wanta placement.
All tankers in the Wanta fleet remain insured with two different International Group P&I clubs, indicating that the Russian oil they are shipping is compliant with the oil price cap.
Receiving attestations
Western insurers need to receive attestations that the cargo was bought at or below $60 a barrel to provide cover for shipment to third countries.
Wanta Shipping said in an email to Lloyd’s List from an executive who signed off as Capt Dmitry, that the company was not linked to Macario or Koban Shipping and “we are our own team”.
“We object strongly to your seeking to categorize Wanta as operating as part of your so called dark fleet,” he said.
“The vessels we manage engage in properly documented price cap trades and maintain International Group P&I cover as a result.
“It is wrongful and misleading articles which can place such essential cover, and the risks that are covered by these insurers, in jeopardy.”
Number three is recently formed Emirati-based shipmanager and operator, Radiating World Shipping Services. All tankers are flagged in the Cook Islands; only one of its 17 tankers has Western P&I cover. Insurers are unknown for the remainder.
Hennesea Tankers Corporation - FZCO, a commercial operator, is the fourth-largest dark fleet operator in Russia. The associated company, Hennesea Holdings Limited, is also based in Abu Dhabi.
The companies are also linked to India-based shipmanagers, the largest being Maritas Fleet Private Limited.
Tankers managed by Maritas Fleet Private Limited (number 5) may also have connections with UAEbased IMMS Middle East-FZCO, and Gravitas Shipping DMCC, according to analysis of classification society records and vessel databases.
The Hennesea fleet is best identified by tankers that either have the prefix “HS” in their name, or their single-ship registered owner in the Marshall Islands is named via the “HS” prefix.
IMMS Middle East was the intermediary buyer of several tankers, owning them for a matter of days before they ended up with Hennesea
The P&I insurer is unknown for Hennesea Tankers, which has a GoDaddy website that launched last August, with a homepage that said it is “coming soon”
Hennesea Tankers, as well as those from Gatik, are all classed with the India Register of Shipping.
An invoicing address for one Hennesea tanker, HS Glory (IMO: 9249087) is a company in the UAE, Gravitas Shipping DMCC, according to Indian Register of Shipping records.
The company address for Marshall Islandsincorporated single ship company for 2006-built tanker medium range tanker Kalne (IMO: 9323326) was care of Hansa Shipping GmbH & Co KG, which cannot be traced.
Number five is Maritas Fleet Private Limited, which managed a fleet of 17 tankers of 1.9m dwt, all of them Hennesea Tankers vessels when analysis was conducted in June.
Maritas now has a further seven tankers, including long range tanker Stellaris (IMO: 9336517), purchased from Greece’s Prime Tanker Management Inc at the end of May.
Unconfirmed
Koban Shipping, number six, is the commercial operator of 14 tankers of 1.7m dwt, with some listed in the Fractal fleet. This could not be confirmed as Fractal Shipping did not respond to questions about its link to Koban.
“We are not a counterparty to the technical managers therefore we have no commercial relationship with them,” Fractal said.
“We of course know the beneficial owners of the ships we manage, but do not disclose this commercially sensitive information.”
Koban has been linked to various ISM managers according to the Equasis, IMO and Lloyd’s List Intelligence databases. These ISM managers include Wanta Shipping (six tankers), Macario Shipping (two tankers), and Ushba Shipping Limited (all in UAE), as well as Seamaster Hong Kong Ltd, Global Ship Management Ltd, Ship Management Services Ltdd, and OnBoard Ship Management Ltd, all in Hong Kong.
Koban Shipping was incorporated in 2019. The telephone number of the Fujairah branch on UAE company records and on its website did not answer despite repeated calls.
UAE company records show the managing director is Indian national, Roshanlal Shambhunath Gupta with a 49% stake, and 57 year-old Emirati Khaled Mohammed Abdul Rahman Al Reyes with 51%.
Gupta is also the signatory for Koban Shipping to a cooperation document to Batumi State Maritime Academy, providing the same address as displayed on its website.
Number seven on the list, K&O Shipmanagement, has five suezmaxes and three aframaxes.
Each tanker is commercially operated out of Hong Kong, each with separate companies with the prefix “East” linked to brass plate addresses.
Ship Management Services Limited, and Macario Shipping are listed as number eight and nine for their role as intermediaries in the sale of tankers destined for dark fleet trading in Russia.
A mystery Chinese fleet of 20 tankers that includes 10 very large crude carriers is the 10th largest fleet.
These tankers initially appeared to have no discernible link, except that they are all involved in ship-to-ship transfers of Russian cargoes in the mid-Atlantic over the summer, and in international waters off Cueta for winter.
However, they share Hong Kong & China-based shipmanagers with the same serviced office addresses and similar company names such as Runne, Sunne or Munne, and Greetee, Ketee and Jettee.
Lloyd’s List contacted 17 companies listed on the top 10 list where details could be found from websites, vessel databases, companies house records or classification societies. Two responded, Fractal Shipping and Wanta Shipping.
* Lloyd’s List defines a tanker as part of the dark fleet if it is aged 15 years or over, anonymously owned and/or has a corporate structure designed to obfuscate beneficial ownership discovery, solely deployed in sanctioned oil trades, and engaged in one or more of the deceptive shipping practices outlined by US State Department guidance issued in May 2020. The figures exclude tankers tracked to government-controlled shipping entities such as Russia’s Sovcomflot, or Iran’s National Iranian Tanker Co, and those already sanctioned.
Lloyd's List Daily Briefing 17 July 2023