Ghost trade: How Russia imports Mercedes Benz cars despite sanctions

Agathe Demarais, a member of the European Council on Foreign Relations (ECFR), believes that the Kremlin has taken its cues from North Korea, Iran, and China to shield itself from Western sanctions. “[Russia] has used North Korea as a model for disguising ships and manipulating automatic ship tracking systems. They are experts in importing coal and oil under the table, a technique Russia uses today.”

The KSE Institute figures that Russia has circumvented oil sanctions through a “dark fleet” of an estimated 156 tankers that travel without protection and indemnity insurance, a requirement in most Western seaports.

“We believe Russia has been able to find alternative sea routes, for example, through Chinese ports that do not require this insurance,” Hilgenstock added.