Shadow ships: What are they and why do countries use them?

What in the World

• Episode: Shadow ships: What are they and why do countries use them?
• Website: What in the World
• Feed URL: https://podcasts.files.bbci.co.uk/w13xtvrv.rss
• Duration: 00:15:07
• Published: 2025-04-01 15:30

In this episode we’re tracing the route of a shadow ship. These ships are part of a network carrying Russian oil around the world - in violation of international sanctions. And some of them have been accused of sabotage, severing undersea cables that connect European countries. The “shadow fleet” is growing in size and posing a risk to other ships and the environment.

BBC journalist Emilia Jansson explains what shadow ships are and what some Scandinavian countries are trying to do about them. And we hear from BBC journalist Tim Whewell who travelled to the Laconian Sea, where shadow ships frequently carry out ship-to-ship transfers of cargo.

Instagram: @bbcwhatintheworld Email: [email protected] WhatsApp: +44 330 12 33 22 6 Presenter: William Lee Adams Producers: Emilia Jansson and Julia Ross-Roy Editor: Verity Wilde