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AMBER 6

Shadow fleet · Person of interest · Sanctioned entity
TypeVessel[sources]
NameAMBER 6 · Amber 6[sources]
Build Date[sources]
Call Sign3E2141[sources]
DescriptionAccording to Lloyd's List, 'AMBER 6' is linked to anonymous Chinese buyers who spent about $376 million to purchase 13 tankers to carry out risky ship-to-ship transportation of russian oil in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean. Ship-to-shore logistics hubs are a common feature of the scheme, allowing for the concealment of ownership and origin of cargo. In addition to the mid-Atlantic STS hub, there are also areas near the ports of Kalamata (Greece), Malta, Ceuta, and the Caucasus where ship-to-ship operations have been established for russian oil. STS's operations in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean are outside the jurisdiction of port authorities, with limited technical and operational oversight, which increases safety and environmental concerns due to the unknown insurance and vessel ownership data. · In 2024, the tanker will be involved in the export of russian oil to China from the port of Kozmino. · In June 2025, Canada imposed sanctions on the vessel. · Lloyd's List has tracked five Aframax tankers, seven large oil carriers and one Suezmax vessel to an anonymous buyer through separate but related companies operating offshore Hong Kong and China that own similar vessels. The group of tankers was acquired between May and July 2022 for a total of $285 million, based on ship brokerage reports and market valuations. Since then, all but one of the tankers have been involved in the transshipment of russian oil cargoes at a high-risk transshipment hub located 860 nautical miles west of Portugal in international waters. The vessels purchased by the anonymous Chinese buyer are 15 years old or more, making it impossible for most major oil companies to charter them and impossible to obtain conventional financing. · Oil exports from russia are the most important source of income for the kremlin regime to finance its war against Ukraine. The tax on oil production collected by the russian federation in 2023 amounted to 8.9 trillion rubles, or 31% of total federal revenues. According to CREA data for September 2024, russia's revenues from crude oil exported by sea amounted to 192 million euros per day, 86% of the total volume of russian marine crude oil was transported by shadow tankers, while tankers owned or insured in countries that impose price restrictions accounted for 14% of the total value of russian oil exported in September. · 6 more...[sources]
FlagPanama[sources]
IMO NumberIMO9235713[sources]
MMSI352001387[sources]
Past FlagsGreece[sources]
Previous nameAstro Sculptor[sources]
Tonnage105109[sources]
TypeCrude Oil Tanker[sources]
Source linkeur-lex.europa.eu · eur-lex.europa.eu · home.treasury.gov · kse.ua · sanctionssearch.ofac.treas.gov · 7 more...[sources]
Last changeLast processedFirst seen

Descriptions

Transport crude oil or petroleum products that originate in Russia or are exported from Russia while practicing irregular and high-risk shipping practices as set out in the International Maritime Organisation General Assembly resolution A.1192(33)

Swiss SECO Sanctions/Embargoes,

Shipping sanctions: a specified ship is prohibited from being provided with access to or having its master or pilot cause it to enter a port in the UK, may have its registration on the UK Ship Register terminated, and a master or pilot of a specified ship may be given a port barring direction, a detention direction, and a port entry direction or a movement direction.

UK FCDO Sanctions List,

Transporting russian crude oil/oil products in violation of other restrictions

Ukraine War and Sanctions,

Transportation of fossil fuels

Ukraine War and Sanctions,

Relationships

Data sources

UK FCDO Sanctions List5,711

UK sanctions collated by the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office

United Kingdom · FCDO

EU Council Official Journal Sanctioned Entities2,308

Supplemental list of people, companies, and organizations sanctioned for involvement in Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

European Union · Council

Ukraine War and Sanctions4,351

Sponsors and accomplices of Russian armed aggression against Ukraine.

Ukraine · GUR

Swiss SECO Sanctions/Embargoes7,682

Switzerland manages a sanctions lists with a high degree of detail on the individuals that are subject to it's embargoes

Switzerland · SECO

US OFAC Specially Designated Nationals (SDN) List34,454

The primary United States' sanctions list, specially designated nationals (SDN) part.

United States of America · OFAC

EU Sanctions Map1,345

The EU Sanctions Map is a visualisation of EU sanctions policy. It includes a broader set of policies and entities than the EU consolidated sanctions list.

European Union · Council

US Trade Consolidated Screening List (CSL)22,183

The Consolidated Screening List (CSL) is a list of parties for which the United States Government maintains restrictions on certain exports, re-exports, or transfers of items.

United States of America · ITA


Source data IDs: ua-ws-vessel-495 · eu-sancmap-070824abbf6c26ed64ffd2d6c8b60226f1d8c5d2 · NK-aUyekKv5ygQSN2MCeJH5F5 · ofac-51674 · eu-oj-87a6b06d46bdd5453e834165f9cc45e2fd075777 · ua-ws-e384df0d031f9d9a8514643c2bb6e42ab63f0103 · ch-seco-87267 · gb-fcdo-rus2855

For experts: raw data explorer