Mark Douglas

Good spotting - I’ve let the author know

Promised Danish crackdown on Russia’s “shadow fleet” means data gathering for sanctions, maritime analyst explains Danish authorities announced yesterday that they intend to tighten environmental oversight of oil tankers in the port of Skagen, through which thousands of vessels pass annually en route from the Balt...

Promised Danish crackdown on Russia’s “shadow fleet” means data gathering for sanctions, maritime analyst explains

The measures will not lead to tankers being stopped and will have little immediate impact on Moscow’s oil trade, says @maritimekiwi.bsky.social of Starboard Maritime Intelligence.

That said, I’ll be interested to see what that does to the seemingly thriving Facebook marketplace for refined Russian products.

Will Gambia become the new Benin of false flags?

Ukrainian drones hit largest oil terminal in Russian-occupied Crimea, sparking fire, media reports The terminal can hold up to 250,000 tons of fuel, which supplies Russian forces.

⚡️ Ukrainian drones hit largest oil terminal in Russian-occupied Crimea, sparking fire, media reports.

The terminal can hold up to 250,000 tons of fuel, which supplies Russian forces.

'The job hasn't been completed' - Manawanui wreck still causing concerns one year after sinking One year after HMNZS Manawanui hit a Samoan reef, locals say the compensation is needed.

'The job hasn't been completed' - Manawanui wreck still causing concerns one year after sinking

FPDA The Five Power Defence Arrangements were established in 1971 through a series of bilateral exchanges of notes between Australia, Malaysia, New Zealand, Singapore and the United Kingdom. The purpose o...

@warshipcam.bsky.social et al, if you’re on FB or LinkedIn and not watching FivePowerDefenceArrangements.org Ex BERSAMA LIMA 2025 you’re missing out. The annual ex has seen a huge injection of capability with F-35s from the RAAF and UK CSG, alongside other aircraft, ships and land elements.

@conorgallagher.bsky.social FYI

🙋‍♂️ I was. I just wanted to say your work is amazing. Have you ever using something like Google My Maps to plot the movement of these vessels over time?

Following the interception of BORACAY / PUSHPA, two websites pretending to be the Benin Maritime Administration got removed from the Benin TLD (.bj). This was the websites that the false certificates pointed to.

This looks to me a lot like a government intervention

Happy to see my work pays off.

Impressive news that a Pr.21631 Buyan-M class missile corvette has been hit by Ukraine on Lake Onega, up north. Presumably by a strike drone (OWA-UAV)?

This ship can launch Kalibr cruise missiles.

Lake Onega is on the inland waterways connecting Baltic, Arctic, Caspian and Black Sea

Så er den gal igen: Putins skyggeflåde stryger gennem danske farvande Læs mere her

60 false flagged vessels through the Danish Straits since we promised to stop them.

I talked to the Danish newspaper @ekstrabladet.dk who a story about the sad record, with “Blue” being number 60.

Shadow fleet tanker Pushpa a.k.a Boracay has left France.

Reported destination changed from India to Suez Canal (although final destination is unlikely to have changed!). Thanks for all your updates and reporting @pmolpmol.bsky.social

⚓️“French military personnel boarded the #Boracay, a Benin-flagged tanker.

The two crew members, the captain and his deputy, were arrested on charges of refusing to obey a summons and failing to justify the ship's nationality, according to the prosecutor's office.”

Australian Icebreaker Nuyina Resumes Commissioning After Year’s Delay Australia’s futuristic icebreaker research ship for missions to the Antarctic returned home after a year-long delay for repair and maintenance. The ve...

👏

maritime-executive.com/article/aust...

Had the privilege of presenting to the NATO Maritime Security Centre of Excellence as part of their biennial Ex MARSEC. Even had a chance to show the BORACAY detention!

Unfortunately I couldn’t make it to Istanbul. It looks like a great exercise, and a chance to vessel spot on the Bosphorus!

That’s it??!! A Western European navy finally took action against a false flagged tanker. Granted that seems to be a happy byproduct but maybe this will lead to more. Although I said that in April as well…

@pa.nton.cx

Breaking:

False flagged tanker Saraswati about to pass by Copenhagen and the EU summit.

We can only 'see' the French Navy vessel for as long as it has its AIS on. It may have escorted it all the way to the anchorage but with its AIS off. But makes sense that a warship wouldn't hang around to guard the vessel - I'm confident the French military could quick stop an attempt to run.

Further confirmation. Ish. Somehow they forgot to mention the motley crew of OSINT’ers that spotted it first: @vesselspotter.bsky.social, @pmolpmol.bsky.social, @pa.nton.cx, @claudialanz.bsky.social, @auonsson.bsky.social et al

maritime-executive.com/article/susp...

@antongerashchenko.bsky.social There are signs that *maybe* if the problem of Russian-linked tankers break enough rules someone will do something bsky.app/profile/mari...

bsky.app/profile/pmol...

From @pmolpmol.bsky.social:
“French authorities tell us at TV 2 that the vessel Pushpa aka Boracay is under investigation for “lack of documentation on nationality/flag” and “refusal to follow orders.” Any link to Denmark’s drone incidents remains unknown.”

nyheder.tv2.dk/udland/2025-...

Should be BORACAY 🤦

#maritimeintelligence #shadowfleet #unclos #sanctionsenforcement #maritimesecurity #regionalcooperation #maritimesanctions #oott #osint #frenchnavy | Starboard Maritime Intelligence ⚓ French Navy appears to join Estonia in acting against false flags and the shadow fleet Two days ago, the crude oil tanker BORCAY (IMO: 9332810) transited the English Channel. Off Brest on France’s ...

www.linkedin.com/posts/starbo...

@vesselspotter.bsky.social thanks for getting me to look at this. Also @lloydslisted.bsky.social, @pa.nton.cx @theins.press, @conorgallagher.bsky.social, @auonsson.bsky.social, @claudialanz.bsky.social

EU states clarified their authority in June:

“Stateless vessels, including those falsely claiming to fly a flag… are not entitled to rights under UNCLOS, including freedom of navigation.”

This case may mark a turning point in enforcement.

www.government.se/statements/2...

France routinely shadows Russian Navy vessels through its EEZ. But this appears to be the first observed French interception and detention of a shadow fleet tanker — echoing Estonia’s detention of the same ship (then KIWALA) in April.

Denmark drone incursions: All signs point to Russia? Three ships with Russian links have emerged as possibly playing a role in the mysterious drone flights that closed a number of Denmark's airports several times this week. The vessels were spotted off…

Earlier this week, BORCAY was also proximate to the drone activity in Denmark that forced airport closures and raised Europe-wide alarms: www.france24.com/en/europe/20...

This adds a troubling dimension to its movements.