St. Maarten’s flag misuse cited in EU’s next sanctions package against Russia

GREAT BAY--The European Union is preparing a new round of sanctions that could have direct implications for Sint Maarten, following reports that companies have issued fraudulent ship registration certificates using the island’s flag to Russian oil tankers operating within what is known as Moscow’s “shadow fleet.”

The EU’s proposal, first reported by Bloomberg, includes three firms accused of supplying false flags from Aruba, Curaçao, and Sint Maarten to at least eight vessels already under sanctions. According to European maritime authorities, none of these territories are listed in the Paris Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) registry of official flags, which confirms that they do not have authorization to provide legitimate flagging services.

The discovery has prompted EU officials to include these alleged violations in the 19th package of sanctions against Russia, which is currently under negotiation among member states. Sint Maarten’s situation — cited by the Netherlands in a formal warning to the International Maritime Organization (IMO) in May — is expected to form part of the premise for broader sanctions measures targeting false flag operations that enable Russia to bypass oil export restrictions.

The proposed sanctions package goes beyond the three companies. It adds approximately 120 additional vessels to the EU’s restricted list, bringing the total number of targeted ships to more than 560. It also aims to penalize third-country firms that facilitate or disguise Russia’s energy trade through deceptive registrations or logistical support.

European governments have expressed growing concern about the environmental and financial risks tied to Russia’s unregulated fleet. According to investigations by Politico and SourceMaterial, at least five Russian-linked tankers under questionable registration leaked oil into European waters over the past year.

In recent months, several European ports have stepped up enforcement. France detained a tanker unable to prove its nationality, and President Emmanuel Macron told reporters at the EU summit in Copenhagen that stopping suspicious ships was critical to curbing the “shadow fleet’s” operations.

The Netherlands’ May 2025 warning to the IMO specifically referenced fraudulent certificates issued under Sint Maarten’s name, urging closer monitoring of private maritime registries claiming Caribbean affiliations. While Sint Maarten does not maintain an official international ship registry, its flag and identity have been misused by private intermediaries to mask the origin of sanctioned oil shipments.

The EU’s forthcoming sanctions package, expected to be finalized later this month, is designed to tighten enforcement mechanisms around maritime trade, close regulatory loopholes, and prevent small jurisdictions from being exploited in global sanctions evasion schemes.

According to The New York Times, Russia’s shadow fleet currently numbers about 940 oil tankers, roughly 17 percent of the world’s total, many of which operate outside recognized flag jurisdictions. The European Commission has stated that curbing the use of “fake flags” and front companies is essential to blocking revenue streams that fund Russia’s war economy.

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