It represents more than a third of the roughly 600 ships in this fleet, which accounts for 70% of Russia's oil exports.
Shipowners from 21 of the 35 countries that sanctioned oil trade with Russia sold ships that ended up in the shadow fleet, including 127 tankers from companies in Greece, 22 from Britain and 11 from Germany.
In total, more than $6 billion has flowed into the coffers of Western shipping magnates and maritime investors since the start of the full-scale war in February 2022.
So far, more than 300 oil tankers have been sanctioned by Western governments, most of them in recent months. With 68 sanctioned tankers, the EU lags far behind the 235 oil vessels listed by the U.S. government.
On Jan. 10, the United States imposed new substantial package of sanctions, targeting “two Russian oil companies, more than 100 tankers, oil traders, Russian insurance companies" with focus on tankers that carry Russian oil sold above the West's $60 per barrel price cap.