⚓️ Follow Windward for more #ShipoftheDay insights into the shadow fleet, sanctions evasion, and deceptive shipping practices.

10. Windward flagged Sun as “high risk” in Nov 2023. Sanctions have since made voyages longer and more complex. Today, detours and false flags highlight how Russia-linked tankers are adapting to avoid any chance of inspection.

9. Sun even reversed course mid-voyage, leaving the Dardanelles for the Mediterranean, then rerouting to Primorsk. A hallmark of dark fleet behavior.

8. Timeline:. May 21: EU sanctions.June: drifting in Turkish waters.July 2: switches to Benin.July 5–27: 22 days in Greek waters.July 22: UK sanctions.

7. Windward AI shows Sun began broadcasting Benin’s false flag on July 2 in the Marmara Sea, after being expelled by Antigua & Barbuda.

6. 🚩 Even though effectively stateless, these ships invoke the UN Convention of the Law of the Seas (UNCLOS) and the innocent passage right to sail through territorial waters without interdiction or inspection.

5. This pathway is emerging as false flag tankers test the resolve of EU & UK governments while continuing to trade largely unchallenged.

4. After loading Urals crude around Aug 25, Sun again avoided the Channel, minimizing time in UK waters where coastguards request proof of insurance.

3. ⛽ Earlier in August, Sun sailed to Primorsk by detouring around Great Britain rather than the shorter route through the English Channel.

2. Sun is flying the false flag of Benin which invalidates any insurance and draws scrutiny as it sails through NW European waters.

🚢 Windward's #ShipoftheDay: Sun (IMO 9293117). This Benin-flagged, EU & UK-sanctioned aframax tanker is taking an unusual detour to avoid the English Channel as it sails to and from Russian Baltic ports. 👇

⚓️ Follow Windward for more #ShipoftheDay insights into the shadow fleet, sanctions evasion, and deceptive shipping practices.

13. Vessels like this, using anchorage areas off Europe, underscore challenges for enforcement agencies in the Mediterranean and Atlantic waters.

12. Fotuo’s unusual behavior shows the shifting playbook of sanctioned tankers: ⏳ prolonged idling, 🚢 uneconomic voyages, and🚩 false flagging.

11. AIS tracking showed the ship doing a small loop before heading to Morocco’s Tanger Med – Alacazar Area anchorage. There, Fotuo met a small craft before leaving for the Banco del Hoyo anchorage where it has since remained.

10. From late June to mid-August, Fotuo loitered at Cádiz until sailing through Gibraltar Strait to Algiers. After less than a day, it sailed back out.

9. The voyage to Gibraltar appears to be an aborted trip for supplies or bunkering. Fotuo returned to the Cadiz anchorage.

8. After 24 hrs of dark activity, the ship appeared just outside territorial waters off Gibraltar and Algeciras, this time broadcasting the first Benin MMSI number.

7. On June 17, while anchored off Cádiz, the tanker switched MMSI to Benin. 3 days later, Fotuo changed to a second Benin MMSI number.

6. Its former flag, Liberia, deleted Fotuo from its registry after the EU and UK sanctioned the vessel in May.