The oil tanker Vayu 1, on the sanctions list of many Western countries and previously accused of participating in high-risk oil transport activities, entered Norway's exclusive economic zone (EEZ) in the Barents Sea on June 12 (local time).
This 21-year-old ship is currently flying the Cameroon flag. According to maritime tracking data from MarineTraffic, the ship started leaving port on May 30, but the destination has not yet been determined.
According to the Equasis ship data system, since 2023, Vayu 1 has changed its registered nationality up to 9 times. For most of 2025, the ship even operated under a fake flag or unidentified nationality.
In addition to continuously changing the registered nationality, Vayu 1 has also changed the ship management unit and the unit in charge of the International Safety Management System (ISM) many times. Currently, the ISM unit of the ship is not identified.
The International Maritime Safety Management Code (ISM Code) is issued by the International Maritime Organization (IMO) to ensure safe ship operation and prevent environmental pollution.
Available data suggests that Vayu 1 may be operating without complying with international maritime safety regulations.
This ship is currently on the sanctions list of the European Union (EU), the UK and some other countries.
According to OpenSanctions, the Vayu 1 ship has repeatedly turned off the Automatic Identification System (AIS) and participated in oil transfer activities between ships at sea. These activities put the ship in the group at high risk of evading surveillance and international sanctions.
Vayu 1 has a total registered capacity of about 23,240 tons.
The current registered owner of the ship is Layla Maritime Inc., a company based in Seychelles and on Ukraine's sanctions list.
According to analysis of maritime transport data conducted by Barents Observer, since September 2025, more than 120 sanctioned ships have traveled along the coast of Norway. Most of these are heading towards the Russian port of Murmansk and most are oil tankers.
Vayu 1 also moved along the coast of Norway in the north direction in March this year.
Barents Observer said that many ships believed to belong to the "dark fleet" transporting Russian oil currently have security personnel who have fought in Ukraine.
According to an investigation by The Times, a significant number of these employees used to work for the Wagner mercenary force. The newspaper determined that at least 83 former Wagner members appeared on 189 sea voyages passing through British waters since 2023.
According to reports, these security personnel are not armed but have the task of monitoring the captains and preventing any cooperation with European authorities when ships move through international waters.
