Russia is using its 'dark fleet' of ships to skirt oil sanctions, raising the risk of tanker collisions, insurance firms say

• Russia is using a "dark fleet" of ships to transport its oil, but that's raising the risk of ship collisions, insurance firms say.
• Russia began assembling the tankers last year to skirt Western sanctions on its oil exports.
• But other tankers could easily collide with shadow ships.

Russia is relying on its "dark fleet" of oil tankers to skirt Western sanctions, but that's raising the risk of ship collisions out at sea, according to industry experts, who have flagged concerns as Russia attempts to evade trade restrictions.

Executives from maritime shipping and insurance firms have said Russia's growing collection of shadow tankers is raising safety risks for other oil tankers, as they could easily collide with Russia's shadow fleet.