Shadow Fleet Tankers Seen Along Irish Coast As They Avoid English Channel

Many shadow fleet tankers are sailing along the west coast of Ireland as they avoid the English Channel, where they might be asked to produce insurance documents.

The vessels are taking a longer route north of Scotland and west of Ireland because of less sophisticated tracking and not being challenged to provide documentation.

The latest example involved an old tanker with a false flag, which made its way south along the country’s west coast.

The tanker called Blue switched off its AIS signal before entering the Irish EEZ and loaded crude oil at Ust-Luga and departed on July 31, 2025.

The vessel is sanctioned by both the UK and the EU and is also cited as posing a danger to the marine environment.

The 169,000 DWT tanker was built in 2003 and is falsely showing registry in Benin. Since 2020, the ship has had 4 different identities and claimed registry under 6 different flags, Benin, Antigua and Barbuda, Liberia, Palau, Djibouti and Cyprus.

Since 2024, management has been reported from Turkey.

The Irish authorities said that the ship drew attention due to its false flag.

The authorities also said that the Irish Coast Guard instituted specific measures to monitor the increasing number of shadow fleet tankers crossing the Irish EEZ.

This includes deploying the Air Corps and Naval Service. However, unlike the U.K and Baltic nations, Ireland is not challenging ships to confirm their identity and insurance information.

Tanker Blue later switched on its AIS signal and is headed for the Suez Canal at a speed of 10 knots.

Per reports, the ship is likely bound for India, which is still purchasing Russian oil.

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