A number of Russian shadow fleet tankers are transporting oil with insurance certificates from a c
ompany that doesn’t exist as it’s described in the documents, according to an intelligence assessment from Ukraine.
Seaguard P&I, based in Pinneburg, Germany provided an insurance certificate for the tanker P
az, which is sanctioned by the
US, UK and European Union, according to documents obtained by Ukraine’s foreign intelligence service that were seen by Bloomberg.
No such commercial entity exists in Germany, and the address listed on the insurance certifica
te and the company’s website is the location of a residential apartment building, according t
o an assessment by Ukraine’s foreign intelligence service.
Bloomberg was unable to definitively corroborate that is the case. A request for comment se
nt to the email address on Seaguard’s website went unanswered, while calls to numbers listed for the company didn’t connect.
At least five tankers have received insurance certificates from Seaguard, according to the intelligence assessment. Among the vessels is a tanker called De
yna, which French authorities seized in March on suspicion that it was circumventing sanctions on Russia.
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Ukraine’s allies have sanctioned hundreds of vessels in Russia’s covert fleet of tankers, as th
ey have looked to crack down on Moscow’s ability to generate revenue to sustain its war against Ukraine.
More recently, several European nations have intercepted and boarded vessels near their
waters, with the ships seen as posing environmental and security risks in breach of international maritime regulations.
Shadow tankers have increasingly turned to sailing under false flags and with questionable pap
erwork, as they have been locked out by western service providers including insurers.
Photograph: French authorities seized a tanker called Deyna in March 2026 on suspicion that it wa
s circumventing sanctions on Russia. Photo credit: Miguel Medina/AFP/Getty Images
