Russia has found a new way to quietly move its oil to other countries, even though many parts of the world have placed strong sanctions on its oil trade. These sanctions were put in place to limit Russia’s income from oil exports due to its actions in the Ukraine war. But now, Ukrainian intelligence says Russia is using a port in Indonesia, called Karimun, to get around these rules.
This Indonesian port has become the biggest stop for Russian oil in 2025. The tricky part? It’s located in a free trade zone, which means it’s not tightly watched by Indonesia’s government. It’s almost like a no-man’s land where regular rules don’t apply. This lack of control makes it easier for Russian companies to secretly move oil without getting caught.
Here’s how it works: Russian oil is brought to Karimun and then mixed with oil from other countries. Once this happens, it’s harder to tell where the oil originally came from. The oil is then labeled as if it’s from Indonesia, which makes it look clean and legal. This way, the oil can be sold to places like Singapore, Malaysia, and China, and the sanctions don’t stop it.
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Tankers, Fake Traders, and Hidden Routes
Approximately 590,000 tons of fuel oil have been shipped to Karimun from the Russian port of Ust-Luga since the beginning of 2025. On top of that, Russian companies also shipped about 217,000 tons of diesel, another 50,000 tons of oil, and a second batch of 217,000 tons of diesel fuel to this Indonesian port. That’s a huge amount of fuel moving through a small place that most people haven’t even heard of.
From March to April 2025 alone, at least three large tankers carrying this oil were identified as being under sanctions from the European Union and the United Kingdom. That means these ships were not supposed to be working, but they still made the trip to Karimun anyway. These ships are often hard to track, and they sometimes hide their true locations or turn off their tracking devices while sailing.
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Even more mysterious are the companies involved in this oil trade. These are obscure trading firms—small or unknown businesses that often change their names before making the final delivery. This name-changing trick makes it very hard to track who is actually buying or selling the oil. It’s like a game of hide-and-seek across the oceans.
Russia’s Giant Shadow Fleet
Behind all of this lies something called Russia’s “shadow fleet.” This is a group of nearly 1,000 old oil tankers, which are used only to move oil in ways that break or dodge sanctions. These ships are often decades old and not as safe or easy to track as newer ones. Altogether, this secret fleet can carry more than 100 million tons of oil—a massive number that helps Russia keep selling oil under the radar.
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To try and stop this, governments around the world are stepping up. The European Union is preparing new penalties aimed directly at this shadow fleet, especially the tankers being used to dodge the embargo. The British government has also responded with its largest-ever sanctions, which target about 100 tankers believed to be part of Russia’s secret operation. Since the beginning of 2024, these tankers are estimated to have moved over $24 billion worth of oil.
These new efforts are meant to make it harder for Russia to move its oil and to protect key infrastructure across Europe and the UK. But for now, the port of Karimun continues to be a key escape route for Russian oil—and a big blind spot in global enforcement.
