A few weeks after Black Sea drone attack, sanctioned tanker makes shady passage through Norwegian Arctic
The tanker Elbrus, en route to Murmansk, sailed 200 nautical miles off the Norwegian coast in an apparent attempt to avoid scrutiny.
The 275-metre-long oil tanker Elbrus (IMO 9290385) was on its way to a Russian port in the Black Sea when it was attacked by a drone on 8 January 2026. The engine room was damaged, but none of the crew were injured.
According to Reuters, the drone was an unmanned surface vehicle.
The Elbrus returned to service shortly after the attack.
In early May, the tanker entered Norwegian waters on a northbound course for the Russian port of Murmansk. However, it did not transit through the area covered by the Barents Ship Reporting System (Barents SRS), which is designed to enhance maritime safety and security. Instead, it followed a route outside Norway’s Exclusive Economic Zone — 200 nautical miles offshore — where the reporting requirements do not apply.
On 5 May, the 21-year-old tanker passed south of Bear Island with a margin of just 30 km.
The vessel also appears to have changed its flag state during the voyage. The first leg was sailed under the flag of Palau, while the final stretch was under the flag of Cameroon, according to data from Norway’s national AIS system.
The tanker was included in the EU’s 20th sanctions package adopted on 23 April 2026.
According to OpenSanctions, an open-source database, the Elbrus does not have Protection and Indemnity (P&I) insurance.
Its owner is reported to be Qing Ju Shipping Ltd, while its ISM and ship manager is listed as Mei Zhou Dao Shipmanagement, according to the Equasis shipping database. Both companies are registered in Hong Kong.
The Elbrus is not the first tanker to sail outside Norway’s EEZ in order to avoid oversight. In mid-April, the Apple (IMO 9271327) followed a similar route on its way to Murmansk, as well as on its return voyage.
The chosen routes suggest that the vessels may be attempting to conceal irregularities.
According to Arve Dimmen, Director of Navigation Technology and Maritime Services at the Norwegian Coastal Administration, the Apple did not respond to enquiries from the authorities, either on its northbound voyage to Murmansk or on its southbound return.
The Elbrus and the Apple are part of the so-called “shadow fleet” transporting sanctioned Russian oil to international markets. Both vessels are subject to international sanctions.
Like many shadow fleet vessels, they have changed names and flag states multiple times since the start of Russia's war of aggression in 2022.
Operators of Russia’s shadow fleet are becoming increasingly cautious in the face of foreign law enforcement. In recent months, the French Navy has boarded two tankers carrying Russian Arctic oil in the Mediterranean. Authorities in Germany, the UK, Sweden and Denmark have also taken enforcement action against Russia-affiliated carriers.
