Shadow fleet tanker en route to Murmansk makes sudden port call in Kirkenes

After days of suspicious navigation, the Gunmetal Jag on Thursday afternoon suddenly made port call in the Kirkenes Port. Ship traffic data show how the oil tanker for a week sailed back-and-forth in the Norwegian Sea. As it approached the maritime border to Russia in the Barents Sea, it made a sharp turn towards Kirkenes.

According to a local ship agent, the Gunmetal Jag came to Kirkenes to change crew. Several of the new crew members are travelled across the Norwegian-Russian border. None of them are Russian citizens, but several come from Georgia, ship agent Sergei Konev says to the Barents Observer.

During the ship's stay in Kirkenes, several pallets with goods were put aboard. According to Konev, the goods were inspected by Norwegian Customs officials and declared in line with regulations. 

A Norwegian Coast Guard vessel has been in the area since the Gunmetal Jag arrived to Kirkenes. An inspection of the tanker was conducted, the Coast Guard confirms to the Barents Observer.

"The Coast Guard is supporting the Customs with control of this ship that arrived from the Netherlands and reported Murmansk as its destination. It is allowed port call to Kirkenes for crew change," says Hanne Olafsen, spokesperson for the Coast Guard.

She adds that an underwater inspection was conducted.

"The Coast Guard conducted an underwater drone search of the ship hull," Olafsen says. "This is one of the Coast Guard's many responsibilities," she explains.

The Norwegian police says it inspected the ship after it arrived in Kirkenes.

"We are aware of this ship and conducted control on board together with the Customs and the Coast Guard after its arrival yesterday evening," says Marion Olsen, leader of the local Police operative border control.

She adds that she can not provide further comments on the ship control.

"With regard questions about police measures against a ship that arrives from outside the Schengen area, we can not provide comments on the issue, neither about possible findings during the controls."

It is not clear why the Gunmetal Jag decided to change crew in Kirkenes and not in Murmansk, which is the ship's original destination.

The tanker is due to leave Kirkenes on the March 21, less than a day after it arrived to the Norwegian port town. It is expected to set course for Murmansk where it is likely to load oil from a Russian transshipment facility.

Murmansk is one of Russia's major ports for oil export. Millions of tons of crude extracted at Arctic fields are shipped to the Kola Bay and subsequently reloaded to tankers for export to international markets. Following the Russian full-scale war against Ukraine and the introduction of international sanctions, a significant share of Russia's oil is exported by so-called 'shadow fleet' tankers.

The tankers are sailing under flags of convenience and usually have a muddled ownership structure. Many of the tankers that pick up oil in Murmansk are 'shadow vessels.'

Until recently, the name of the Gunmetal Jag was Gunmetal Jack. Photos of the ship hull show that the new owner has painted over the last letter and turned the 'c' into a 'g.'

The tanker is not on the sanctions lists of the EU or the USA. But it can still be considered as part of the 'shadow fleet' that is involved in shipments of Russian oil. In 2023, it took part in controversial shipping of Russian oil from the Black Sea, whereupon it was included in a database compiled by a Monitoring Group of the Black Sea 

The Gunmetal Jag until recently sailed under the flag of the Marshall Island. In 2024, it change its flag state to Liberia. At the same time, it was reportedly sold by Greek company Empire Navigation Inc to the Turkish Besiktas Group. 

The former shipowner was involved also in illegal shipments of oil from Iran. In 2023, the Empire Navigation Inc pleaded guilty in smuggling sanctioned Iranian crude oil and agreed to pay a €2.2 million fine.