These shipping practices have become
clear indications for possible involvement in
sanctions evasion and are described as such in
a 2020 advisory by the U.S. State and Treasury
departments and the U.S. Coast Guard.
But the advisory, heralded as an important step
to crack down on the shipping companies that
do business with U.S. adversaries, makes no
mention of the latest GPS trick to hide illicit trade
in oil, seafood and other products. As a result, the
practice has exploded into what Windward has
called a “free for all” with no immediate end
in sight
“The vast majority of these vessels were
meticulously chosen for these missions because
they are otherwise well behaved,” said Dror
Salzman, a risk product manager at Windward. “If
you walk to a bank with a ski mask on, everyone
knows what you’re up to. But here it’s like they are
working from the inside with the teller. Nobody
can see them.”