Norwegian authorities have uncovered a fraudulent maritime insurance operation linked to Russia’s shadow fleet, charging four individuals with forgery and running an illegal insurance business.
The scam, orchestrated by a company named Ro Marine AS, has raised concerns about the risks associated with unverified shipping insurance in global trade. An investigation by Norwegian state broadcaster NRK and watchdog Danwatch revealed that Ro Marine had been issuing counterfeit insurance documents to vessels in Russia’s shadow fleet.
The company falsely presented itself as a legitimate maritime insurer, reportedly covering more than 250 ships. However, authorities discovered that it was a shell company, lacking actual operations, financial records, or employees, aside from its Russian owner and a Bulgarian board member.
The scam came to light in September 2024 when a Ghanaian insurer contacted Norway’s Financial Supervisory Authority (FSA) about suspicious insurance documents.
According to Danwatch, although the documents initially appeared genuine with the FSA logo and official stamp, further investigation uncovered inconsistencies such as the company having no records prior to 2016, references were made to non-existent Norwegian laws and the signature belonged to someone who had never worked at the FSA.
In addition, Ro Marine claimed to have offices at the Norwegian Shipowners’ Association in Oslo, but this claim was also false. In a report to authorities in January 2025, the association explained that they had attempted to reach out to Ro Marine to correct the incorrect address on their website and in the company register but had been unsuccessful.
“This case is of significant importance to the Norwegian Shipowners’ Association and may have implications for other actors and companies (…) For the Norwegian Shipowners’ Association, it is clearly harmful that Ro Marine spreads false information about having a business and postal address in our building,” they write to the Norwegian authorities.
“The Oslo Police District has started an investigation based on a report from the Financial Supervisory Authority. This has led to further investigations of the reported company and associated persons. Four persons have been charged and are under investigation for document forgery and for operating insurance brokerage without a license from the Financial Supervisory Authority,” says a spokesperson for the Oslo Police District.
Danwatch and NRK also report that the Russian owner and the Bulgarian board member are being investigated by Norwegian police for possible circumvention of Western sanctions. After Danwatch and NRK contacted Ro Marine, several of the ships have been deleted from the company’s website. However, as of 23 March 2025, Danwatch reports that Ro Marine added a new shadow fleet vessel to their website.
