Navigating the shadows: the legal and compliance risks of sanctions-evading fleets

James Broomhall, at Grosvenor Law, considers how the so-called dark fleet is growing and the implications of that for the rest of the industry

As sanctions regimes intensify across the globe, maritime operators find themselves on the front line of enforcement. Yet while legitimate actors adapt to new compliance obligations, a parallel network of rogue vessels, the so-called "shadow fleet", is expanding with growing sophistication.