Ukraine's military intelligence names 17 tankers and captains in Russian fuel-import scheme
Ukraine's military intelligence agency (HUR) has publicly identified 17 tankers and their captains — citizens of Russia, China, and India — involved in supplying Russia with over 562,000 tonnes of gasoline and diesel fuel during July–September 2026 via transshipment through Egypt, Turkey, Morocco, and South Korea.
Key points
- HUR identified 17 tankers and captains — citizens of Russia, China, and India — involved in delivering over 562,000 tonnes of gasoline and diesel to Russia from July to September 2026.
- Fuel was routed through transshipment hubs in Egypt, Turkey, Morocco, and South Korea, entering Russia at Vitino, Kandalaksha, Murmansk, Vysotsk, Saint Petersburg, Nakhodka, and Vladivostok.
- SINO FAITH (Panama flag) under Chinese captain Gong Yanjun delivered nearly 32,000 tonnes of gasoline from Morocco's Tanger Med to Murmansk in July; AURORA under Chinese captain He Qingshan delivered over 30,000 tonnes to Vysotsk in July; TULU under Indian captain Sarbjit Singh delivered nearly 37,000 tonnes to Vysotsk in August.
- Tanker IVY PEARL delivered nearly 32,000 tonnes of gasoline from Morocco to Saint Petersburg at the end of August; DERIN delivered 31,000 tonnes on the same route; WENDRIX — already under EU, Swiss, UK, Ukrainian, and Canadian sanctions — unloaded over 29,000 tonnes from Turkey's Mersin at Vysotsk in early September.
- CHONGCHON, sanctioned in the EU, Switzerland, Ukraine, the UK, and Canada, delivered over 30,000 tonnes of gasoline from South Korea's Yeosu to Vladivostok in August under Indian captain Varudkar Vijay Vinayakrao, who is himself under Ukrainian sanctions.
- PEGAS, ARAM KHACHATURIAN, and LAYLA (also sanctioned in the EU, Switzerland, Ukraine, the UK, and Canada) shipped more than 114,000 tonnes of diesel from Ulsan to Nakhodka and Vladivostok in July–August; ARAM KHACHATURIAN also carried a trial shipment of JET A-1 aviation kerosene from Ulsan to Nakhodka at the start of August.
- Intermediary companies named include AO 'Morskoye agentstvo Novotorik' (part of the sanctioned PAO Lukoil network), Hong Kong's Golden Centre Trading Limited, and Russian firms OOO 'Global Marine Agency' (incorporated 14 April 2026), OOO 'Kompaniya Pelagus', OOO 'Turey', and OOO 'Morskoy Briz'.
Why it matters
HUR says the identified scheme accounts for more than 562,000 tonnes of fuel in a single quarter, evidence of a systematic effort to compensate for damage to Russia's domestic refining capacity. Several tankers involved — including WENDRIX, CHONGCHON, and LAYLA — are already under sanctions in the EU, UK, Switzerland, Canada, and/or Ukraine, highlighting enforcement gaps and the use of shell flags of convenience. The deliveries draw on Indian-origin gasoline and South Korean-origin diesel and aviation kerosene, showing how third-country supply chains are being mobilised to keep Russian fuel flowing. HUR explicitly links the imported fuel to sustaining Russia's defence-industrial order, frontline logistics, occupied territories, and the Kaliningrad exclave.
What happened
On 11 September 2026, Ukraine's Main Intelligence Directorate (HUR) of the Ministry of Defence publicly identified 17 tankers and their captains — citizens of Russia, China, and India — that it says were involved in delivering over 562,000 tonnes of gasoline and diesel fuel to Russia between July and September 2026. According to HUR, the fuel was routed through transshipment hubs in Egypt, Turkey, Morocco, and South Korea, and entered Russian ports including Vitino, Kandalaksha, Murmansk, Vysotsk, Saint Petersburg, Nakhodka, and Vladivostok. HUR named individual vessels and captains for each shipment: SINO FAITH (Gong Yanjun, China) and AURORA (He Qingshan, China) carried Moroccan gasoline to Murmansk and Vysotsk in July; TULU (Sarbjit Singh, India) carried nearly 37,000 tonnes from Tanger Med to Vysotsk in August; IVY PEARL and DERIN moved gasoline from Morocco to Saint Petersburg at the end of August; WENDRIX, under EU, Swiss, UK, Ukrainian, and Canadian sanctions, unloaded over 29,000 tonnes of gasoline from Turkey's Mersin at Vysotsk in early September. From South Korea, CHONGCHON (captain Varudkar Vijay Vinayakrao, an Indian under Ukrainian sanctions) delivered gasoline from Yeosu to Vladivostok in August; PEGAS, ARAM KHACHATURIAN, and the sanctioned LAYLA moved more than 114,000 tonnes of diesel from Ulsan to Nakhodka and Vladivostok in July–August, with ARAM KHACHATURIAN also carrying a trial shipment of JET A-1 aviation kerosene. HUR named a network of Russian and Hong Kong intermediaries involved in the supply chains, including AO 'Morskoye agentstvo Novotorik' — part of the network of sanctioned PAO Lukoil — as well as Golden Centre Trading Limited (Hong Kong) and several Russian firms, including OOO 'Global Marine Agency', incorporated on 14 April 2026.
Background
According to HUR, large-scale disabling of Russian oil-refining capacity has forced Russia to restrict its own fuel exports and ramp up imports from partner countries. Several of the Russian and Hong Kong intermediary companies named in the intelligence release are tied to those supply chains, including entities linked to sanctioned PAO Lukoil.