Sweden moves to widen dragnet on Russia’s shadow fleet

The Swedish government has decided to draw the net tighter around vessels sailing under international flags as part of its action targeting Russia’s so-called ‘shadow fleet’.

As disclosed, the measures, set to enter force from July 1, 2025, tighten control of foreign ships by requiring them to provide insurance information as a way to counter the operations of the ‘dark fleet’. Simultaneously, the government aims to improve the safety of its maritime sector and to protect the marine environment.

In practice, the measures will authorize the Swedish Coast Guard and the Swedish Maritime Administration to collect insurance data not only from vessels calling at a port in Sweden but also from those merely passing through the country’s territorial waters or the exclusive economic zone, government officials have said.

“This underscores Sweden’s strong presence in the Baltic Sea, which in itself has a deterrent effect. It also provides Sweden and our allies with important information on vessels that may form the basis for adding more shadow fleet ships to sanctions lists. We are seeing an increasing number of troubling incidents in the Baltic Sea, and this requires us not only to hope for the best but also to plan for the worst,” Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson commented.

Kristersson added that Sweden is set to increase surveillance in the Baltic Sea further in order to exert more pressure on Russia, whose clandestine units have not just circumvented international rules but also imposed a threat to maritime security. Because of this, the Swedish Prime Minister underlined that “scrutiny of ships is absolutely crucial.”

In a bid to crank up the pressure on Russia’s shadow fleet, the European Union (EU) has so far unpacked a total of 17 sanctions packages. The 16th was unveiled in February this year and saw the number of units listed go up to 153, while the 17th package, announced in May 2025, pushed the digit to 342.

Sweden’s own effort comes as part of an initiative unveiled in December last year, when twelve European nations—Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Iceland, Latvia, Lithuania, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Sweden and the United Kingdom—joined forces to develop a set of measures that could potentially disrupt the dark fleet’s operations. The first step of this action was the matter of ship insurance.

In April this year, the EU announced that, going forward, all vessels, including those merely passing through European waters without entering an EU port, would be mandated to provide proof of insurance.

Across the Atlantic, similar actions have been taken with the goal of conserving the environment and enhancing maritime safety at a time of geopolitical shifts and turns. Panama is one of them. In May this year, the Panama Maritime Authority (PMA) decided to strengthen the rules of ship-to-ship (STS) oil transfer operations, requiring that ships flying the flag of Panama (whether or not they be owned or operated by a domestic player) notify the flag state at least 48 hours in advance of any planned STS services.