Summary
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An EU naval mission led by Italy boarded a tanker belonging to Russia's so-called shadow fleet on Sunday, August 2, 2026, the second such operation in under two weeks as European states escalate physical enforcement of oil sanctions. The shadow fleet consists of ageing, opaquely owned and often inadequately insured tankers used to move Russian crude above the G7 price cap. Boardings raise the operational and insurance risk of shadow-fleet employment and are being watched closely by mainstream owners and P&I clubs concerned about pollution liability from substandard tonnage.