Albania bars Russian shadow-fleet tanker HANUMAN from Durrës port
On 29 August, Albania denied the oil tanker HANUMAN, identified by Ukraine's military intelligence (HUR) as part of Russia's shadow fleet, entry to the port of Durrës. HUR, which announced the incident publicly on 4 September, framed the refusal as evidence of international sanctions solidarity against Russia.
Key points
- Albania barred the oil tanker HANUMAN from entering the port of Durrës on 29 August.
- Ukraine's Main Intelligence Directorate (HUR) publicly reported the refusal on 4 September and called it evidence of international sanctions solidarity.
- Since the start of 2025, HANUMAN has exported at least 452,000 tonnes of Russian fuel, according to HUR.
- The tanker's routes ran from Novorossiysk to Turkey, Senegal, the UAE and a transshipment area near Augusta, Italy.
- HUR says logistical support was provided by Russian company Altoprae Marine LLC, based in Novorossiysk.
- HUR says Altoprae Marine was founded and is managed by a top manager from the orbit of sanctioned oligarch Gennady Timchenko, whom HUR describes as an associate of Vladimir Putin.
- Altoprae Marine also services EVENTIN (IMO 9308065) and CORDELIA MOON/WALRUS (IMO 9297888), both under multi-jurisdictional sanctions and linked by HUR to environmental-safety incidents.
- HUR says Altoprae Marine is involved in operations of vessels belonging to Rosewood Shipping LLC, which HUR associates with Oksana Marchenko, the wife of Viktor Medvedchuk.
Why it matters
The denial narrows the safe-harbour network available to Russia's shadow-fleet tankers, showing that even non-EU Adriatic and Black Sea states are willing to block individual sanctioned-linked vessels from berthing. HANUMAN is presented by HUR as a high-volume carrier of Russian fuel, so a single port refusal can disrupt a measurable slice of Russia's sanctions-evasion logistics. HUR's wider investigation links the tanker's logistics operator to figures around sanctioned oligarch Gennady Timchenko and to companies associated with Viktor Medvedchuk's wife Oksana Marchenko, exposing the ownership network behind individual vessels. The two other tankers serviced by the same operator — EVENTIN and CORDELIA MOON/WALRUS — are already sanctioned by multiple Western jurisdictions and have been linked to environmental-safety incidents, raising the stakes of port-access decisions.
What happened
On 29 August, Albania refused to allow the oil tanker HANUMAN to enter the port of Durrës. Ukraine's Main Intelligence Directorate (HUR) reported the incident publicly on 4 September. HUR says HANUMAN has been under its monitoring and was added to the War&Sanctions portal database as an active participant in Russia's shadow fleet on 26 January. According to HUR, HANUMAN has exported at least 452,000 tonnes of Russian fuel since the beginning of 2025, operating routes from Novorossiysk to Turkey, Senegal, the UAE and a transshipment area near Augusta, Italy. HUR identifies Russian company Altoprae Marine LLC, based in Novorossiysk, as the logistics provider for these voyages, and says the firm was founded and is managed by a top manager from the orbit of sanctioned oligarch Gennady Timchenko, whom HUR describes as an associate of Vladimir Putin. HUR also says Altoprae Marine services the sanctioned tankers EVENTIN (IMO 9308065) and CORDELIA MOON/WALRUS (IMO 9297888), and is involved in operations of vessels belonging to Rosewood Shipping LLC, which HUR associates with Oksana Marchenko, the wife of Viktor Medvedchuk. HUR characterised Albania's decision as evidence of international sanctions solidarity and part of joint efforts to counter Russian sanctions evasion at sea.
How Ukrainian sources describe it
All supplied coverage comes from Ukrainian outlets, which uniformly centre the story on the HUR announcement and present Albania's refusal as proof of "international sanctions solidarity" against Russia. Ukrainian reporting systematically expands the story beyond the port refusal, foregrounding HUR's wider investigation of HANUMAN, its logistics operator Altoprae Marine, its alleged ties to oligarch Gennady Timchenko, and its connections to vessels and companies associated with Viktor Medvedchuk's wife Oksana Marchenko. Ukrainian outlets frame HANUMAN as part of Russia's sanctions-evasion "shadow fleet" and stress the environmental and security risks of such vessels, which HUR says commonly switch off trackers, perform dangerous manoeuvres and fail to meet modern environmental standards.
Where reporting differs
Some articles report that HUR added HANUMAN to the War&Sanctions database on 26 January without specifying a year, while another article specifies 26 January 2026. Some reports date Albania's refusal to 29 August without specifying a year, while one article records it as 29 August 2026.
Background
Ukraine's Main Intelligence Directorate (HUR) maintains the War&Sanctions portal, where it lists vessels and entities it considers active participants in Russia's shadow fleet. HANUMAN has exported at least 452,000 tonnes of Russian fuel since the start of 2025, running routes from Novorossiysk to Turkey, Senegal, the UAE and a transshipment area near Augusta, Italy. The Russian company Altoprae Marine LLC, based in Novorossiysk, is described by HUR as the logistics provider for HANUMAN and is said to have been founded and managed by a top manager from the orbit of sanctioned oligarch Gennady Timchenko, whom HUR calls an associate of Vladimir Putin. Altoprae Marine also services EVENTIN (IMO 9308065) and CORDELIA MOON/WALRUS (IMO 9297888), both under multi-jurisdictional sanctions and both linked by HUR to environmental-safety incidents. HUR further says Altoprae Marine is involved in operations of vessels belonging to Rosewood Shipping LLC, which HUR associates with Oksana Marchenko, the wife of Viktor Medvedchuk. Shadow-fleet vessels, according to HUR, commonly switch off trackers, perform dangerous manoeuvres and often fail to meet modern environmental standards.