On August 29, 2026, the Republic of Albania prohibited the oil tanker HANUMAN (IMO 9295048) from entering the Port of Durrës after DIU had previously identified the vessel as part of the aggressor state russia’s shadow fleet.

The HANUMAN has been under close monitoring by Defence Intelligence of Ukraine for an extended period.

On January 26, 2026, DIU added the tanker to the War&Sanctions database as an active vessel of russia’s shadow fleet.

Using high-risk and deceptive shipping practices, such vessels help the kremlin circumvent international sanctions and channel profits from oil sales into financing its war machine.

Moreover, these vessels pose a threat to international shipping and the environment across entire regions, as they disable tracking systems, conduct dangerous manoeuvres and are largely non-compliant with modern environmental standards.

The scale of the HANUMAN’s activities is significant: since the beginning of 2025, the tanker has exported at least 452,000 tonnes of russian fuel. Its routes ran from the port of novorossiysk to Türkiye, Senegal and the UAE, as well as to a ship-to-ship transfer area near the Italian city of Augusta.

The logistical support for these voyages was provided by the russian company Altoprae Marine LLC from novorossiysk. The company was founded and is managed by a top executive from the orbit of sanctioned russian oligarch gennady timchenko, a close associate of dictator putin.

The company is known for systematically servicing shadow fleet tankers, including EVENTIN (IMO 9308065, sanctioned by the EU, Switzerland, the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada and Ukraine) and CORDELIA MOON (current name — WALRUS, IMO 9297888, sanctioned by the United Kingdom, Canada, the EU, Switzerland, Australia and Ukraine). Both vessels have been linked to incidents that threatened environmental safety.

It is also known that Altoprae Marine LLC from novorossiysk is involved in operations involving vessels owned by Rosewood Shipping LLC, a company belonging to Oksana Marchenko, the wife of state traitor, putin’s godfather and suspect in the looting of Ukrainian resources, Viktor Medvedchuk.

Albania’s decision to deny HANUMAN access to its port is an important demonstration of solidarity with international sanctions.

Joint action by Ukraine and its foreign partners is steadily closing the kremlin’s opportunities to use maritime trade routes to circumvent sanctions, forcing the aggressor state to answer for its actions.