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Recent US military and law enforcement actions to capture “shadow fleet shipping” in Venezuela may have inadvertently opened the door for Australia to intercept similar vessels in the Indo-Pacific region.
These older “shadow fleet” oil tankers, under concealed webs of ownership, are often used to smuggle restricted goods, resources and oil to sanctioned counties such as Russia, North Korea, China and Iran.
In a possible favourable turn of events, the United States military and law enforcement has recently opened the door to lawful seizures of “shadow fleet” shipping after being involved in Venezuela and arresting leader Nicolás Maduro.
The US has already seized seven oil tanker linked to Venezuela since 10 December last year, with US officials alleging that the first US sale of Venezuelan oil was valued around US$500 million. In even further potential justification, US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth has publicly stated that the “blockade of sanctioned and illicit Venezuelan oil remains in full effect, anywhere in the world”.
As the Australian Defence Force already monitors the East China Sea, Yellow Sea and Sea of Japan with allies, international maritime surveillance and patrols to enforce United Nations Security Council sanctions against North Korea, the question now raised is if Australia should grasp a unique opportunity with vessels closer to home?
What does the rule book say?
Under the current guidelines set out by the international treaty United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, ships generally have immunity from boarding unless there is reasonable ground for suspecting that the vessel is engaged in piracy, the slave trade, unauthorised broadcasting, is the same nationality as the warship or is a ship without nationality.
Indeed, a boat may be sent to verify the ship’s right to fly its flag and if suspicion remains after the documents have been checked, it may proceed to a further examination on board the ship.
Importantly, aircraft can also give the order to stop and pursue suspicious shipping, before handing over the chase to another pursuing military warship.
Professor of history Salvatore Mercogliano from the Campbell University said it’s still unclear if recent maritime boardings by the US military will open the door for similar operations in the Indo-Pacific by the Australian Defence Force and law enforcement.
“It would depend on the registry of the ships and if they fit the category of stateless or if they have the permission of the registry,” Mercogliano said.
“(Such an) operation would probably take place in the South China Sea and off the coast of Malaysia where the ship-to-ship operations are taking place.”
The US Department of Treasury, in a statement on 10 January, has acknowledged the sweeping actions it has made to reduce Russian revenues from energy, including blocking two major Russian oil producers and imposing sanctions on a number of oil-carrying vessels.
“Russia has grown increasingly reliant on vessels that participate in high-risk shipping practices to facilitate illicit or sanctionable activity, often called the ‘shadow fleet’,” according to a statement from the US Department of Treasury.
“Today’s action sanctions 183 vessels, largely oil tankers that are part of the shadow fleet as well as oil tankers owned by Russia-based fleet operators. Several of the vessels sanctioned today have shipped not only Russian oil but also sanctioned Iranian oil.
“OFAC is also sanctioning two Russia-based maritime insurance providers, Ingosstrakh Insurance Company and Alfastrakhovanie Group, which were previously sanctioned by the UK.
“Similarly, Russia’s dependence on opaque traders willing to ship and sell its oil has dramatically increased. These traders often are registered in high-risk jurisdictions, have murky corporate structures and personnel with links to Russia, and conceal their business activities.
“Many were only established in the wake of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine and quickly began moving hundreds of millions of dollars’ worth of Russian oil within months of their creation.
“OFAC has previously sanctioned such traders and is taking further action today by sanctioning opaque traders and a shadowy government of Russia-linked network facilitating massive amounts of oil exports.”
Other players
Apart from the US military, there are other international players taking the opportunity to gather these stateless and seemingly consequence-less vessels.
Italy’s law enforcement agency Guardia di Finanza recently detained an Oceania-flagged vessel carrying 33,000 tonnes of ferrous metals after a customs check in the southern Italy port city of Brindisi.
That vessel was previously suspected of violating sanctions against Russia after it allegedly deactivated its automatic identification system and docked at port of Novorossiysk in November last year.
The French Government has also seized an alleged Russian shadow fleet tanker ‘Grinch’ in the Mediterranean between Spain and Morocco this week.
“We are determined to uphold international law and to ensure the effective enforcement of sanctions… The activities of the ‘shadow fleet’ contribute to financing the war of aggression against Ukraine,” according to a public statement from French President Emmanuel Macron.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky also welcomed the capture, saying online; “Exactly the kind of resolve needed to ensure that Russian oil no longer finances Russia's war… Vessels must be apprehended. And wouldn't it be fair to confiscate and sell the oil carried by these tankers?”
Final thoughts
International war provocation or not, the precedent for this legal “loophole” now largely exists due to US military and law enforcement actions. It cannot be undone.
Whether Australia likes it or not, that precedent is set and waits only for a country to take action while treading carefully within the legal lines outside of physical military confrontation.
Coincidentally, Australia has a unique position close to crucial maritime shipping routes directing traffic between the Indian Ocean and South China Sea. The region provides natural chokepoints to potentially intercept vessels and disrupt ship-to-ship transfers that often occur off Singapore, Malaysia and Indonesia.
