New research suggests that Russian tankers are falsifying position signals to evade Western sanctions. One expert speaks of a "sophisticated deception" Since Russia's invasion of Ukraine last year, the West has relied on sanctions to thwart Russian President Vladimir Putin.
At the heart of this is a shadow fleet of oil tankers that are supposed to continue selling Russian oil – for example in China or India. But there is a catch for Russia: because the lever of the West's oil price cap works through its market power.