Russian military veterans, including former Wagner mercenaries and men linked to the GRU, have been deployed aboard tankers in Moscow’s “shadow fleet” moving sanctioned oil through the Baltic Sea, according to a joint investigation by OCCRP, Delfi, Helsingin Sanomat, and iStories. 

The report, published Tuesday, said crew manifests from 20 voyages showed sanctioned tankers leaving Russian Baltic ports with two extra Russian “supernumeraries” or “technicians” on board in addition to regular crews. Of the 17 Russian men identified without maritime credentials, 13 had links to Wagner or Russian security services, the news outlets said. 

The extra personnel began appearing after July 2025 and were found on Baltic Sea routes, but not in a limited sample of voyages through the Black Sea or Pacific, suggesting a targeted deployment. European intelligence officials told OCCRP the teams were intended to deter Baltic authorities from boarding, inspecting, or seizing vessels carrying Russian oil. 

Among those identified were Denis Enin and Aleksandr Kamenev, whom OCCRP said were listed as supernumeraries on the sanctioned tanker Kira K when it prepared in December 2025 to carry 734,000 barrels of Lukoil crude from the Russian port of Ust-Luga. The outlet reported that both men had Wagner backgrounds, while other tankers carried men linked to Russian military intelligence, paratrooper units and defense ministries. 

Some analysts believe the men may also be gathering intelligence on how Western states monitor and respond to sanctioned tankers, turning the voyages into both an economic lifeline and a reconnaissance tool for Moscow, according to the report. 

The findings add to concerns that Russia is increasingly militarizing the fleet of aging, opaque vessels it uses to keep oil exports flowing despite Western sanctions. The news agencies cited European officials as saying the presence of battle-hardened veterans raises the risk that any interception at sea could meet armed resistance. 

Read more at OCCRP