What in the World
What in the World
Shadow ships: What are they and why do countries use them?
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April 1, 2025
15 minutes
Available for over a year
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.
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Presenter: William Lee Adams
Producers: Emilia Jansson and Julia Ross-Roy
Editor: Verity Wilde