US moves to legitimise shadow tanker fleet

The Trump administration is authorising the sale of sanctioned oil tankers to approved investors who would refurbish the vessels and return them to legitimate crude trades, US energy secretary Chris Wright revealed yesterday, as Washington scrambles to contain soaring freight costs amid the Hormuz crisis.

Speaking at a Citadel Securities event in New York, Wright said the government was developing an approval process for formerly blacklisted vessels to trade under recognised owners, carrying only non-sanctioned oil.

“We’re going to move some of the ships from what I call the ‘bad-guy fleet’ to the ‘good-guy fleet,’” he said.

Wright insisted the move was not a blanket lifting of sanctions on Iranian or Russian oil, describing it instead as the conversion of ships into legitimate assets. He put the global dark fleet at around 1,600 tankers and suggested “dozens” or possibly “hundreds” might eventually re-enter compliant trading.

Tanker owners’ association INTERTANKO has pushed back hard, warning that legalising a vessel does not automatically address its condition, ownership or insurance.

“If additional tanker capacity is required, policy should encourage cargoes towards the quality, compliant fleet,” the association said.

INTERTANKO warned that opaque insurance arrangements, weak oversight and missing inspection histories pose risks to crews, the environment and coastal states, while sending the wrong signal to owners that have invested heavily in safety and compliance.

Market analysts are equally sceptical about whether the initiative can meaningfully depress extraordinary freight rates.

Kpler estimates only 24 of roughly 160 OFAC-sanctioned VLCCs could realistically return to mainstream trading after ownership and age restrictions are considered. It argued yesterday that war risk around the Middle East Gulf, rather than vessel numbers alone, is driving freight costs, and that loosening sanctions could weaken geopolitical leverage without delivering meaningful relief.\

Braemar put the potential increase even lower at just 19 VLCCs once vessels tied to Iran and European sanctions are excluded.

Braemar stressed that any lasting impact depends on Hormuz flows and how long Washington’s approval arrangements remain in place.

Arrow Research’s filtering has produced a maximum of 22 eligible tankers across all sizes, including 14 VLCCs, and none in the suezmax or aframax segments.

Arrow sees continued upside risk for freight, with the strong market potentially extending through the first quarter of 2027 as shuttle operations, ship-to-ship transfers and security risks keep tonnage tied up.

BRS, meanwhile, has identified 148 deepsea tankers sanctioned by the US alone, representing just 2.5% of the global deepsea fleet. Only 14 appear to have been idle for more than three months. Most of the remainder are already working in grey trades, while UK and EU restrictions could prevent them obtaining essential insurance and other maritime services.

BRS maintained that Washington’s initiative is unlikely to have a significant immediate impact on freight rates, with the majority of potentially eligible tonnage already employed and the fundamental constraints on tanker movements through Hormuz remaining unresolved.

The shadow fleet move follows Washington’s decision earlier this month to temporarily authorise Russian diesel trade until April 7, 2027, drawing criticism from Kyiv and US lawmakers.

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