A False Flag and Void Insurance: russia Uses Forged Documents for International Transportation of Oil by Sea

The Foreign Intelligence Service of Ukraine has exposed the use of a false flag and a forged insurance certificate by the sanctioned vessel “PAZ” (IMO 9233765) – part of russia’s “shadow fleet”. The vessel is owned by “Boom Trading Ltd,” a company registered in the Marshall Islands.

On March 9, 2026, the vessel “PAZ” (sanctioned by the USA, the EU, the UK, and Ukraine) departed from the port of “murmansk” (rf) to deliver 140,000 tons of russian oil to the PRC. The exporter of the oil is PJSC “gazpromneft”.

In total, between 2023 and 2025, this vessel made five voyages carrying russian oil to India and China, as well as four voyages carrying Venezuelan oil to the PRC.

Since March 2025, this tanker has been flying a false Curaçao flag (the Curaçao Ship Register is on the EU sanctions lists).

At the same time, the tanker has fake insurance. The vessel claims to use an insurance certificate from the German company “Seaguard P&I”. However, there is no information in the FRG’s registries regarding the existence or registration of such a commercial entity.

This is not the first time the rf has tampered with insurance certificates. Illustrative is the case with Norwegian company “Romarine AS”, which at one time provided fake insurance to dozens of tankers in the rf’s “shadow fleet”. In March 2025, the Norwegian Financial Supervisory Authority suspended the operations of “Romarine AS”.

The use of fictitious documents is evidence of systematic violations of international maritime transport regulations by vessels of russia’s “shadow fleet”.