A worrying new trend in the shipping industry is emerging as tankers in the “shadow fleet” are manipulating their Automatic Identification System (AIS) data, appearing as ships without nationality.
According to Lloyd’s List, at least seven ships have changed their MMSI (Mobile Maritime Service Identity) numbers since June, using codes that are not assigned to any country.
The MMSI is a unique nine-digit number assigned by each registry that reveals the flag of the ship. For example, the prefix “247” corresponds to Italy and “261” to Poland. However, several ships linked to sanctions have started broadcasting with “646”, which is essentially non-existent.
Ian Ralby, CEO of the analytics firm IR Consilium, points out that “this is a deliberate attempt to evade sanctions. It is a well-known tactic among criminals, but not sufficiently understood by the authorities trying to prevent it.”
He added that “there is an exploitation of the legal ambiguity surrounding the enforcement of sanctions, as well as around how authorities should handle ships with a questionable flag status.”
According to Lloyd’s List, the use of forged ship registries and the practice of “flag hopping” — the phenomenon of vessels shifting from one flag to another — have now become a key tool of the “shadow fleet” transporting oil from countries under sanctions. This trend not only makes the detection and monitoring of illicit shipments more difficult, but also heightens risks for the safety of international shipping.
