On 4 July 2024, the oil tanker Torex departed from the Russian port of Ust-Luga on the Baltic Sea. With a capacity of more than 100,000 tons, it was loaded with oil and heads towards a port in India, where it would arrive on 5 August, after passing through the Suez Canal. The tanker sails under the flag of the Cook Islands, a Pacific island nation, but its operation is handled by a company in Chisinau, Moldova.
Torex is just one of dozens of oil tankers managed by Moldovan companies as part of Russia’s so-called „shadow fleet,” as a way the Kremlin employs to evade international sanctions for the invasion of Ukraine.
RISE Moldova has identified ten Moldovan companies that have come to play a significant role in the maritime transport of Russian oil. These companies are run by intermediaries, with some working in the past or still working now for entities controlled by Dorin Damir.
Available data indicate that, up to 2% of the Russian oil was shipped by tankers operated by Moldovan companies, which don’t even have employees in Moldova, during the past 6-7 months.
Most of these tankers are part of Russia’s Shadow Fleet, which last year counted over 400 tankers. Twelve of them are tankers owned by Seychelles offshores under Moldovan management.
Yet at least 23 tankers are „Moldovan” or nearly 6% of Russia’s shadow fleet. On the other hand, there is a company claiming to operate as many as 50 tankers, which means Moldovans manage a fairly impressive fleet of about 70 ships.
„SHADOW FEET”, THE KREMLIN’S WAY TO EVADE INTERNATIONAL SANCTIONS
The authors of the study „Illuminating Russia’s Shadow Fleet,” conducted by an Israeli consultancy that has analyzed how Moscow employs aging vessels for oil shipping, says it’s about oil tankers used in the clandestine trade of sanctioned goods and various ways to hide their origin.
This fleet employs a variety of deceptive shipping practices (DSP) including both static and dynamic techniques. These include dark activities; the deliberate disabling of the automatic identification system; manipulation of the Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS); and many others. Such vessels feature weak ownership and the use of convenience flags short periods. The size of this fleet has fluctuated significantly depending on emerging regulations, and – importantly – especially as a result of the ban and price caps on Russian oil.
The Israeli firm has identified approximately 1,300 vessels in the „shadow fleet.” Typically, these vessels are acquired by newly-created companies and frequently change their flags to hide the true owners and to give the impression of compliance with international sanctions.
The identified Moldovan companies share several similarities and connections. Firstly, they were registered after February 24, 2022, the day Russia invaded Ukraine. Their names typically include words like „Ship Management,” „Shipping,” or „Shipmanagement.” They have the same legal addresses, affiliated administrators and founders, and often the same numbers and mistakes in their financial statements. It was truly challenging to learn who the actual beneficiaries are.
Benjamin HILGENSTOCK, senior economist at the Kyiv School of Economics Institute, stated: „It is also a challenge for us to identify the real owners of these vessels because they are often registered in jurisdictions where information is unavailable or databases are classified.”
OIL SISTERS
The first group, consisting of 4-5 companies, has as their official founders and administrators two twin sisters: Irina Oprea and Cristina Gaiduc.
KSN Shipmanagement SRL was registered less than a month after Russia’s attack on Ukraine. Alina Samson was its founder and first administrator; she also appears as the founder of other companies operating oil tankers. Since late May 2023, the sole associate and administrator has been Irina Oprea. Details, HERE
The company has a share capital of 500 lei ($28) and its main activity, as indicated in its annual statistical reports, is „the repairs and maintenance of ships and boats.” The company claims it had no economic activity in 2022, incurred a loss of 1,000 lei in 2023, and has borrowed approximately 22,000 lei from the founder.
Although it officially has no employees in Moldova, the company appears in several international reports and articles as the owner of several oil tankers. A Singapore-based portal covering maritime navigation monitoring confirmed in a February 2023 investigation about the „shadow fleet” that KSN Shipmanagement SRL operates the oil tanker New Global, which sails under the Panama flag and has a displacement capacity of 159,016 tons. According to another source, in early 2024, the company acted as the technical manager/operator of two other tankers: Caruso and Torex (formerly M.T. Karachi).
Igor Zaharia, director of the Moldovan Naval Agency. Photo: narm.md
WHAT IS THE MARITIME MANAGEMENT?
Ship management companies come in various types, and their responsibilities depend on the contract, explains Igor Zaharia, director of the Moldovan Naval Agency.
„Commercial management is when [the company] operates the vessel economically – it signs charter contracts with the cargo recipients, ensures logistics, etc. Then there is operational management. This, according to the navigation safety code, involves carrying out all procedures to ensure the crew and the vessel operate safely. This means endowment with everything necessary, providing internal programs and management, and maintaining communication with the crew. In short, everything related to navigation safety.”
Moldova does have regulations regarding ship management and these only apply to ships under the Moldovan flag but do not apply to Moldova-registered companies that operate ships under other countries’ flags, according to Zaharia.
Experts from the Kyiv School of Economics Institute (KSE Institute) have found that Moldovan companies not only manage oil tankers but are also responsible for their security, service contracts, and decide on the vessel’s itinerary.
21 MILLION DOLLARS FOR AN OIL TANKER
The name of the tanker Torex surfaced in early 2023 under its former name, M.T. Karachi, in news about a Pakistani corporation subsidiary putting the vessel up for sale. Subsequently, the corporation reported this transaction, announcing that it sold the old tanker (launched in 2003) for more than five billion Pakistani rupees – the equivalent of approximately $21 million at the exchange rate at the beginning of 2023.
In early April and then in July 2023, a Norwegian sea trade news portal said that while Perol Shipmanagement Ltd from the Seychelles became the new official owner of Torex (formerly M.T.Karachi), the actual new beneficiary of the tanker was KSN Shipmanagement SRL, a firm in Moldova.
In March 2024, the Ukrainian Institute for Black Sea Strategic Studies and BlackSeaNews, a Ukrainian outlet, added Torex to a list of 229 tankers that exported crude oil and petroleum products from Russian Black Sea ports in February 2024. According to the publication, the tanker Torex was sailing under the flag of Palau, an island nation in the Pacific, but KSN Shipmanagement secured de facto the ship’s commercial management.
Torex was previously known as Karachi and Marathon. Photo: marinetraffic.com
The KSE Institute mentions the Moldovan company in its Russian Oil Tracker reports, noting that it moves significant volumes of Russian oil. In December 2023, for example, KSN Shipmanagement contracted the transportation of 19,000 barrels of oil a day, a volume that amounts to nearly 590,000 barrels per month.
„I DON’T HAVE ALL THE INFORMATION”
I called Irina Oprea over the phone to ask her about her company and the tankers she manages. Her first reaction was to giggle:
- „Hee, hee, hee! I don’t think that [has to do] with me.”
- „Then who? You appear to be the owner of KSN Shipmanagement!”
- „I see! Alright, I can redirect you to another number so we can talk. But go ahead, ask please,” she encouraged.
- „You manage some tankers. How did you start and where are you now? It’s quite unusual for Moldova.”
- „Tell me again, who are you?”
I reintroduced myself and asked who’s in charge with the companies involved in the shipping of Russian oil, including KSN Shipmanagement.
- It’s not exactly me, and I don’t have all the information. I’ll be back in touch with you or will send you another phone number. Wait a moment for a message.
I never received anything from Mrs. Oprea ever since but I kept calling her over the phone. When she finally answered, she found an excuse for not sending me the promised phone number. „I know you’ve insisted and talked, and it was explained to you,” she said by pointing to Alina Samson, the person she had taken over the company. We’ll refer to Mrs. Samson in detail below.
OTHER COMPANIES, SAME BUSINESS
HATI Shipmanagement SRL and RHEA Shipmanagement SRL are two other companies owned and run by the twin sisters Irina Oprea and Cristina Gaiduc. This is not the only connection. Both companies were established at the beginning of 2023; they operate in the same field – „repairs and maintenance of ships and boats,”; each has a share capital of 500 lei; both reported zero activity for 2023 to the National Bureau of Statistics (BNS); none has any employees; and each of them posted exactly the same losses – 1,689 lei. Additionally, neither HATI Shipmanagement nor RHEA Shipmanagement appears to operate any oil tankers.
Cristina Gaiduc, one of the two sisters, also owns a company called Dagna SRL, which operates in maritime and coastal shipping. She took over this company in late May 2023 from a Ludmila Romanovscaia. Details, HERE
Dagna appears as the operator of the oil tanker Vitis, posting revenues of over 157,500 lei and a profit of 85,983 lei for the previous year.
IN TOP 10 BIGGEST SUPPLIERS OF RUSSIAN CRUDE
Cristina Gaiduc, Irina Oprea’s sister, appears in official records as the owner and administrator of Adel Ship Management SRL since the end of 2023. RISE Moldova said a year ago that this company was operating the Elza, an oil tanker helping Russia transport its crude amidst Western sanctions. Data from the Equasis platform shows that Adel Ship Management was already connected this year to five tankers: Elza, Pyton, Nautilus, Tiburon and Valente. From mid-July 2024, the management of the tanker Valente is already provided by another company. Details, HERE
Elza initially floated under the name Morning Glory VIII. Photo: marinetraffic.com
In March 2024, the Institute for Black Sea Strategic Studies and BlackSeaNews from Ukraine mentioned Adel Ship Management as the operator (ship manager/commercial manager) of three tankers: Nautilus, Valente (formerly Chemtrans Oceanic), and Tiburon. These were included in a list of 229 tankers that exported crude oil and petroleum products from Russian Black Sea ports in February 2024.
According to the report, the three tankers sailed under the flag of Palau. The owner of Nautilus was Winter Wind Navigation Ltd (Seychelles), Valente was owned by Best Way Tanker Corp, and Tiburon by Black Pearl Marine Ltd.
The KSE Institute mentions Cristina Gaiduc’s company, Adel Ship Management, several times in its Russian Oil Tracker reports, presenting it as one of the largest transporters of Russian crude oil. In December 2023, the Moldovan firm shipped 0.7 million tons of barrels of oil (1 barrel = 159 liters). In January 2024, it shipped 21,000 barrels of oil a day or nearly 650,000 barrels per month. In February 2024, it shipped 1.3 million barrels, and by April it transported over 2 million barrels, accounting for 2% of Russia’s total exports, according to KSE Institute reports.
Consequently, KSE Institute experts note that the company entered the top ten Russian crude oil shippers for the first time, alongside operators from Greece, the United Arab Emirates, and China.
We were unable to speak with Cristina Gaiduc while her sister, Irina Oprea, refused to share her contacts with us. „What does she have to do with this?” she reacted. „It was explained to you what is true and what the whole point is, and namely that we have nothing to do with this,” Oprea replied alluding to our discussion with the former owner of the company. Mrs. Oprea also avoided telling us about her relationship with Alina Samson. „Please, I really can’t talk right now,” she excused herself in order to end the conversation.
MIHALEV-SAMSON COUPLE AND A 50-STRONG TANKER FLEET
Another group of companies involved in the shipping of Russian oil is officially controlled by the couple Ion Mihalev and Alina Samson, who have connections with the sisters. For example, Ludmila Romanovscaia, who had owned Dagna SRL until 2023 (now controlled by Cristina Gaiduc), is Alina Samson’s mother. In turn, Samson had transferred KSN Shipmanagement SRL to the other sister, Irina Oprea.
Alina Samson is the owner and administrator of another company with a somewhat similar name – MRK Shipmanagement. Details, HERE
It was established in July 2022, has a share capital of 500 lei, and its main activity is „repairs and maintenance of ships and boats.” Like the companies controlled by the Oprea and Gaiduc sisters, MRK Shipmanagement filed a pretty similar report to the National Bureau of Statistics (BNS): no employees, no economic activity, and 1,689 lei in losses for 2023.
Extracts from the informative notes to the financial statements submitted to the National Bureau of Statistics by the Moldovan companies that manage oil tankers.
Like the company she has given up control, this one too operates oil tankers that are part of Russia’s shadow fleet. According to the IMRRA agency, it currently handles five tankers (Sauri, Temiro, Beast, Ragnar, and Princess Alexia).
Additionally, the company appears in KSE Institute reports as a major carrier of Russian oil and as the operator of five tankers (Sauri, Ragnar, Beast, Sea Maverick, and Temiro), which are owned by firms in the Seychelles tax paradise. Other sources suggest that MRK Shipmanagement is managing other ships as well.
The company claims having no employees in Moldova, but on its website it brands itself as „an international organization.” It says particularly, „We offer a wide range of services to shipowners and managers, wherever they are in the world. Covering full management, technical management, we provide our clients with the core support they need to operate and protect their ships and achieve commercial success.” MRK Shipmanagement also takes credit for being able to operate tankers of various sizes, to ship chemical and petroleum products, but skipped mentioning the volumes or quantities.
Alina SAMSON: „Why should I answer your questions? I don’t want to meet you or talk to you. I won’t give you any information or explanation! Who are you for me to talk to you?”
Alina Samson also appears as the administrator and founder of Zolos Shipping SRL, established in April 2023. Details, HERE With a share capital of only 100 lei, Zolos Shipping SRL reported losses of – yes, again – 1,689 lei for 2023, just like many of the companies mentioned above.
Headhunting is officially the main field of business of Zolos Shipping and numerous online ads for employment from this company corroborate this fact. But it also boasts with 50 tankers under its management and “big plans for the growth of our fleet and its capacity.”
BRITISH COMPANIES
Alina Samson used to own and still owns several companies registered in the United Kingdom, all incorporated in 2017. From 2017 until March 2023, she owned the firm Leisure Marine LP, which she transferred to a Moldovan woman named Natalia Smirnova. Two months later, the company was included in the Ukrainian register of entities under sanctions.
Another British company, Amstrade Maritime LP, was closed in 2021. However, other companies – Olima Ship Services LP and Progressive Tankers LP – remain active. All British companies have a capital of £1 and share an associate called Triton Chartering SA, a company based in an unknown jurisdiction.
Ion Mihalev, who formed a couple with Alina Samson for a period, is the founder and administrator of SAL Shipmanagement SRL, based in Colonita, a village near Chisinau. Details, HERE
The company was established in early 2023 with the primary objective of „repairs and maintenance of ships and boats,” with no employees or economic activity throughout 2023. Public records connect the firm to two oil tankers.
Mr. Mihalev declined to discuss the matter with us. „If something is wrong, let the authorities deal with that,” he cut it short.
In addition to SAL Shipmanagement, Mr. Mihalev owns an individual enterprise, is an associate and administrator in several small firms, and he also makes some cash from car sales.
AN EMPLOYEE OF DAMIR
Other two companies, FLC Shipmanagement SRL and BPC Shipmanagement SRL, were established and are run by Natalia Raileanu. She worked from 2011 to 2016 at the Fighting Entertainment Association (FEA), an organizer of martial arts competitions. The association was established and is led by Dorin Damir, the godson of Moldova’s fugitive oligarch Vladimir Plahotniuc.
In 2016-2021, Natalia Raileanu worked at FEA Production SRL, a company under the control of Dorin Damir. On various social media platforms, however, she claims she has been working at FEA from 2009 to present.
FLC Shipmanagement was incorporated in November 2022, has a social capital of 500 lei, and its main activity is „repairs and maintenance of ships and boats.” In 2023, the company had neither activities nor employees and closed the financial year with a loss of 2,351 lei, according to a report submitted to the BNS.
MTM Hudson is now called Saga. Photo: marinetraffic.com
The company operates two tankers: MTM Hudson and Aurora. In May 2023, a report mentioned that the 19-year-old petrochemical shipping vessel MTM Hudson was sold by MT Maritime Management from the USA for $18.2 million to „undisclosed buyers.”
The second company owned by Natalia Raileanu, BPC Shipmanagement, was established in February 2023 and also deals with the „repairs and maintenance of ships and boats.” In 2023, the company had no activities or employees and closed the financial year with a loss of 1,689 lei.
In November 2023, KSE Institute blacklisted the company for operating tankers in Russia’s „shadow fleet,” estimating that it had shipped about 210,000 barrels of oil.
At the beginning of this year, BPC Shipmanagement was operating four tankers: Ace, Odori, Sea Horizon, and Simphony. According to IMRRA, the company now operates five vessels: Manta, Ederra, Kamelot, Prometei, and Lieto. Details, HERE
Natalia Raileanu, who controls both companies, has declined from comments on the subject but provided a phone number of someone who could.
It’s Ghenadie Bambuleac, who answered the call and promised to gather information and respond.
THE BORDENIUCS: „MAYBE SOMEONE HAS STOLEN THE DATA”
The scheme also involves two companies controlled by Mariana and Serghei Bordeniuc: OST Shipmanagement SRL and SURT Ship Management SRL. Both have the same business activity and the same legal address – an apartment in Chisinau.
OST Shipmanagement is owned and managed by Mariana Bordeniuc. In 2023, the company had no economic activity and ended the year with a loss of 2,539 lei. MagicPort, a data portal, names two ships directly affiliated with OST Shipmanagement: C Viking and Ksena. Another two ships are just operated by this company: Makalu and Bonifacy.
KSE Institute includes only the tanker Makalu in Russia’s „shadow fleet.”
SURT Ship Management, owned and run by Serghei Bordeniuc, had no economic activity and ended last year with a loss of 1,689 lei. The company appears as the operator of two tankers, Bonifacy and C Viking. Details, HERE
In June 2024, the Institute for Black Sea Strategic Studies and BlackSeaNews from Ukraine blacklisted C Viking for the shipping of crude oil and petroleum products from Russian Black Sea ports in May 2024.
Valente was previously called Chemtrans Oceanic. Photo: marinetraffic.com
When RISE reach out for Serghei Bordeniuc, he said “there must have been a mistake” because his company was inactive and operated no oil tankers.
– International databases clearly show that your company has operated two oil tankers.
– Really?
– Can you explain this?
– No. I haven’t even applied for tax registration yet. It’s not active, I don’t have resources. […]
– Have you passed the operational rights for the company to anyone?
– I need to check it up, perhaps my correspondence has arrived. I have moved into another rented apartment. I should have remembered that! Anyway, the company is not functional… There must be a mistake, it happens.
– However, last May the tanker named C Viking, which has been insured for operation by your company, shipped oil in the Black Sea.
– Maybe someone has stolen the data… I need to research and clarify the matter.
– Your wife, Mariana, also controls a company – OST Shipmanagement, which has been involved in oil shipping too.
– It’s different there. When we established the company, the intention was to provide for certain services, such as registration and so on, but we’ve never gone so far.
Serghei Bordeniuc would not respond our phone calls later on and his wife Mariana was unreachable.
BRITISH COMPANIES
The companies analyzed above have different legal addresses, but frequently these addresses cross paths. For example, KSN Shipmanagement SRL, owned by Irina Oprea, has its legal address at office number 2 in a building on 44 Gheorghe Asachi Street, in Chisinau. At the same address is located Zolos Shipping SRL, owned by Alina Samson.
Coincidence or not, the same address is also the legal address of Geoship Company SRL, which in 2012 officially registered the vessel Rhosus in Moldova. This is the very vessel that transported several thousand tons of ammonium nitrate, which was stored in the port of Beirut since 2014 and detonated on 4 August 2020, causing a devastating explosion that wiped out both the port and a part of the city.
WHERE DOES THE OIL END UP?
A matter that needs clarification is where the oil shipped by tankers under Moldovan operators ends up. Maritime monitoring and oil trade portals may provide some information, given that it’s about a „shadow fleet” anyway.
According to data from KSE Institute, in the first half of 2024 alone, the amount of Russian crude oil and petroleum products shipped by tankers operated by Moldovan firms soared to 27.5 million barrels, equivalent to approximately 3.75 million tons. This quantity is valued at about $2.2 billion, based on the average market price.
The largest volume of oil was shipped in tankers owned by Adel Ship Management and MRK Shipmanagement. The main loading ports from are Primorsk and Ust-Luga on the Baltic Sea, and Novorossiysk on the Black Sea.
India and Türkiye are the primary destinations for Russian oil and its derivatives, though shipping to EU countries such as Spain, Greece, and Malta were not rare. In some cases, the recipient cannot be identified because the tankers turn off their monitoring and identification systems.
In February 2024, the Institute of Strategic Studies of the Black Sea and BlackSeaNews included two tankers with Moldovan owners in a blacklist of violators of the EU embargo on maritime imports of Russian crude.
For example, the tanker Torex (formerly named M.T. Karachi), which is operated by KSN Shipmanagement SRL, carried oil from the Russian port of Tuapse on the Black Sea to the Gulf of Lakonikos off the coast of Greece. It was the same destination for the tanker Valente, operated by Adel Ship Management SRL, which had loaded oil at the Russian port of Taman in the Kerch Strait.
In March 2024, the tanker Kamelot, operated by BPC Shipmanagement SRL, transported oil from the Russian port of Novorossiysk on the Black Sea to Dakar, Senegal. In May, the tanker C Viking, operated by Surt Ship Management SRL, picked up an oil cargo from Novorossiysk for the Turkish port of Mersin.
Although experts at the KSE Institute consider this is a relatively small amount compared to the volumes of crude oil and petroleum products exported by Russia, the volumes transported by tankers operated by Moldovan companies are still about four times larger than Moldova’s annual import of petroleum products.
Ion PREAȘCA
Editing: Nicolae Cuschevici
Fact-checking: Fact-checking Department of RISE Moldova
Illustration and graphics: Roman FILIPPOV (RISE Moldova)
Part of the data was obtained with the support of The OCCRP ID Team and KSE Institute
