Albania has become a new hub for smuggling Russian oil: how the Kremlin circumvents sanctions
15 October 14:23
Oil products originating from Russia and Libya and subject to sanctions are entering Europe in large quantities through Albanian ports, either disguised as cement or hidden in recycled fishing vessel hulls. This is stated in an investigation by the Balkan Investigative Reporting Network (BIRN), "Komersant Ukrainian" reports
In December 2022, the European Union completely banned maritime imports of Russian oil, and in February 2023 – of petroleum products. In response, the Kremlin has begun to use workarounds.
In particular, fuel is supplied to Turkey, which then re-exports it to the EU as its “own” products. At the same time, ports without refining capacities are used to conceal the true origin of the petroleum products. Some of these cargoes ended up at refineries in Greece, which provided fuel for American warships and aircraft at European bases.
Albania, where Porto Romano is located, has a land border with Greece and is close to the coasts of Croatia and Italy, making it a convenient point for smuggling cargo.
600 thousand liters of “cement”
In January of this year, two vessels, the Besart and the Aya Zanoubya, entered the port of Porto Romano near the city of Durres on the Adriatic coast.
Officially, they were transporting cement, but Albanian investigators, having received operational information, found 600,000 liters of undeclared diesel fuel inside the Aya Zanoubya.
This was not the first voyage: three weeks earlier, the same vessel had entered the port with fake documents and the same “cement”.
A port receiving sanctioned cargo
As the Balkan Investigative Reporting Network (BIRN) found out, the private port of Porto Romano regularly receives shipments of oil products from countries under UN, EU, or US sanctions, primarily from Russia and Libya.
Lorenzo Bagnoli, director of the Italian IRPI project, notes that about a third of all smuggled fuel in the region is of Russian origin.
A police officer at the port of Durres told reporters that smugglers mostly use fake cargo declarations and choose ports with lax checks for deliveries. According to him, it is unlikely that such activities take place without the participation or at least tacit consent of corrupt officials.
Old ships, new schemes
The Besart and Aya Zanoubya are outdated 1980s vessels registered in Tanzania, which is known for its “open” registry for foreign owners.
Both ships were chartered by Batimarine Owner Ship, a company based in Durres.
After a warning from Montenegro about suspiciously large fuel purchases by Albanian vessels, the prosecutor’s office found out another scheme: fishing boats left Durres under the pretext of “fishing” and instead received cheap tax-free fuel in the Montenegrin port of Bar.
As a result, 1.7 million liters of diesel were illegally imported into Albania in 2013-2016, causing the state losses of more than 1.7 million euros.
Links to Libya and bribes
The key figure in the investigation is the administrator of the company Eduart Skora, who ordered the crew to fill the ballast tanks with fuel under the guise of technical needs.
He was detained while trying to cross the border with Kosovo, but denies any wrongdoing.
Investigators also found that some of the participants in the scheme were connected to Libyan companies, and some suspects, including Eugene Coca and Sergio Sula, escaped arrest.
The ship from Benghazi
In September 2022, Albanian law enforcement officers detained the Queen Majeda, a ship that had arrived from Benghazi, Libya.
They found 2.6 million liters of Marine Gasoil 1000 PPM, a fuel banned for circulation, on board.
The official recipient in the documents was Kastrati Sh.a, the largest fuel importer in Albania and owner of the Porto Romano port.
The company denies any involvement in smuggling.
Smuggling flourishes in divided Libya
According to the UN, between March 2022 and October 2024, at least 185 suspicious oil shipments left the port of Benghazi.
The lack of its own refining capacity makes Libya an ideal platform for schemes involving General Khalifa Haftar’s Russian partners.
Profits from fuel smuggling are used to finance armed groups.
Fishing boats with fuel
The Italian Financial Guard has repeatedly recorded cases where Albanian fishing boats in neutral waters received fuel from Libyan tankers.
The Leon, Geni, and Anyway vessels were converted to carry from 30 to 70 thousand liters of diesel, which was formally purchased “in exchange for fish.”
Since 2022, Albanian law enforcement officers have seized more than 750,000 liters of smuggled fuel.
Russian-Libyan shadow coalition
Albania, which borders Greece and is located near Italy and Croatia, is becoming a key transshipment point for smuggled oil products from Russia and Libya.
Such operations not only undermine the Western sanctions regime, but also bring the Kremlin additional profits that directly finance the war against Ukraine.
According to experts, the fight against smuggling is complicated by corruption, poor port control, and the involvement of international companies that formally operate within the law.
