A hobby ship-spotter posts a single photo on social media—and hours later, warships are scrambling across the Mediterranean.
In this episode of RegTech Real Talk, Charlie and Jamahal dive into the surreal world of Russia’s shadow fleet: hundreds of rusting oil tankers with fake identities moving billions in sanctioned crude, military equipment, and geopolitical influence across global waters.
We follow the true story of the Barbaros, a ghost ship spotted by open-source analyst Yörük Işık, and explore how a single X post triggered an international naval response.
Also in this episode:
How Russia built a $10B shadow fleet
Why 86% of Russian crude exports evade sanctions
The terrifying overlap of sanctions evasion, hybrid warfare, and environmental risk
Why traditional compliance tools are failing — and what must change
This isn’t just about sanctions. It’s about the weaponization of global commerce.
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