The 21,300-deadweight-ton Dakar, built in 2004 and formerly named Vulcano M, is sailing westward along Russia’s Arctic coast carrying MTBE, a gasoline-blending component, after taking the cargo in a ship-to-ship transfer off South Korea. The vessel has no ice-class designation, is owned by Vulcano Marine SA and commercially managed from Dubai, and was sanctioned by the EU in July as part of Russia’s shadow fleet. Russia’s route rules allow non-ice-class vessels through mid-November depending on ice conditions, but October is the season’s most difficult phase in the route’s eastern sections, and the non-ice-class Suezmax Lynx was forced to wait days in ice at 72 degrees north on a similar run last year.
Sanctioned non-ice-class tanker makes late-season Arctic run
The 22-year-old EU-sanctioned product tanker Dakar, with no ice-class strengthening, is sailing the Northern Sea Route carrying gasoline-blending components taken from another tanker off South Korea, gCaptain reported Wednesday.
Why it matters: The voyage shows how far shadow-fleet operators are pushing conventional tankers into the Arctic as the navigation window closes, weeks after a similar non-ice-class vessel was trapped by ice.
Data as of Reporting October 7, 2026. Single-sourced to gCaptain, which cites ship-tracking data and shipping databases; voyage details unverified.
Sources
- Sanctioned 22-Year-Old Non-Ice-Class Tanker Makes Rare Late-Season Arctic Voyage · gCaptain · 2026-10-07