In a new report, Windward identifies a worrisome new phenomenon: alleged Russian grain laundering, and provides an analysis on how it is happening.
According to Windward, Russia’s grain theft from Ukraine and subsequent potential smuggling via cargo vessels have received a significant and justified amount of mainstream media attention.
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Windward’s report offers previously unreported information on five vessels engaging in dark activities and ship-to-ship (STS) operations in the Kerch Strait in June 2022 as part of what appears to be a coordinated effort to launder grain allegedly stolen from Ukraine.
There has been a 160% increase in dark activities in the Black Sea by bulk carriers flying either the Russian or Syrian flags when comparing July 2020-June 2021 to July 2021-June 2022. Of the events that happened between July 2021 and June 2022, 73% took place after the war began.
In addition, there’s a second component: ship-to-ship (STS) meetings. Mostly Russian-flagged cargo vessels and other ships operating under flags of convenience appear to be meeting with one to four cargo and service vessels simultaneously in the Kerch Port offshore waiting area.
Risk Mitigation
The first step in risk mitigation is fully understanding both recent history and the current situation.
The maritime domain has substantially changed since OFAC’s initial introduction of deceptive shipping guidelines back in 2020. Not only have bad actors continued to evolve and look for new ways to conceal their illicit activities, but the scope of deceptive practices has gone far beyond the initial “crude tankers + smuggled oil to avoid sanctions” equation.
In addition to a proliferation of dark activities in the Black Sea area since the Russian invasion of Ukraine, we are now witnessing coordinated cargo ship-to-ship meetings involving multiple ships in what looks like a clear attempt to evade restrictions and sanctions via smuggling.
