On August 29, the Captaincy banned the entry into the port of Durres of the oil tanker "Hanuman", a ship identified by Ukrainian military intelligence as part of the so-called "shadow fleet", which Russia uses to export oil products.
"Hanuman", with IMO identification number 9295048 and flag of Sierra Leone, was included on January 26 in the 'War&Sanctions' database of the Main Intelligence Directorate of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine, GUR.
Ukrainian intelligence hailed the move as an example of international cooperation to enforce sanctions and restrict the sea routes that Moscow uses to export oil.
“Albania's decision not to allow the 'Hanuman' to enter its port is an important demonstration of international solidarity in the implementation of sanctions,” GUR said in a press statement.
"The joint actions of Ukraine and its foreign partners are steadily limiting the Kremlin's ability to use maritime trade routes to circumvent sanctions, forcing the aggressor state to be held accountable for its actions," GUR added.
Data released by Ukrainian intelligence shows that the Hanuman has transported at least 452,000 tons of fuel out of Russia since the beginning of 2025. The voyages have mainly started from Novorossiysk, one of the main Russian ports on the Black Sea, with destinations including Turkey, Senegal, the United Arab Emirates and a maritime transfer zone near the city of Augusta in Italy.
GUR claims that logistical support for these trips was provided by the Russian company Altoprae Marine, based in Novorossiysk, which it links to a manager from the circle of sanctioned Russian oligarch Gennady Timchenko, a longtime ally of President Vladimir Putin.
According to Ukrainian intelligence, Altoprae Marine has also serviced the tankers “Eventin” and “Cordelia Moon” – the latter now named “Walrus”, which have been placed on the sanctions lists of several Western countries and Ukraine.
Both ships have previously been involved in incidents that have raised concerns about maritime safety and the environment.
GUR also links Altoprae Marine to the shipping operations of the company “Rosewood Shipping”, which, according to Ukrainian authorities, is controlled by Oksana Marchenko, the wife of pro-Russian Ukrainian politician Viktor Medvedchuk, an early ally of Putin.
The so-called “shadow fleet” consists of a network of tankers that Russia uses to keep its oil exports moving after Western sanctions were imposed over its large-scale invasion of Ukraine. These vessels often operate under third-country flags and have difficult-to-trace ownership structures.
The G7 countries and the European Union imposed a price cap on Russian oil transported by sea at the end of 2022, along with restrictions on insurance, financing and other transport-related services.
Albania, a candidate country for EU membership and a member of NATO, has aligned itself with European Union sanctions against Russia since the start of its large-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.
Maritime traffic data shows that the tanker "Hanuman" had previously visited the port of Durres, in November 2025.
A BIRN investigation, published in May 2026, identified the tanker as part of a list of ships suspected of transporting Russian oil or grain stolen from the occupied territories of Ukraine, which had visited Albanian ports since 2022, raising questions about the implementation of sanctions imposed by the Albanian government against Moscow. /Taken from Reporter.al
