Vessels of Russia’s “shadow fleet” have been a long-time headache. In addition to their doubtfulness and sometimes illegal activities, they systematically cause environmental damage. It seems this is unavoidable.
It is worth recalling the problems in the Eastern Mediterranean maritime area and last year’s fuel oil pollution in Cyprus’s tourist locations.
Despite the concerns of environmentalists, the problem continues to worsen. Some incidents are frankly outrageous and pose high ecological risks to the Mediterranean.
One particularly egregious case is the discharge of sewage/fecal waters by the Russian bulker POLAR KING (IMO 8711320, Russian flag) into the Aegean Sea, in gross violation of maritime technical regulations and ecological requirements. The incident occurred in early May 2026 but only became known in recent days.
The vessel belongs to the Russian company ECO SHIPPING (also known as ECO SHIPPING LLC and LLC ECO SHIPPING RUS), which carries out maritime operations on the Northern Maritime Route and in the Mediterranean.
In 2024–2025, the United Kingdom, the United States, Ukraine, and Canada imposed sanctions on this company. The legal grounds for these decisions were “receiving income from activities in the interests of the Russian government or supporting it and doing business in a sector of strategic importance to the Russian government — namely, the energy sector.”
In the Russian Arctic, ECO SHIPPING serves the interests of NOVATEK corporation and the operators of Russian liquefied natural gas projects “Yamal LNG” and “Arctic LNG 2,” backed by oligarchs close to Vladimir Putin — Leonid Mikhelson and Gennady Timchenko.
Notably, ECO SHIPPING positions itself as an “environmentally friendly” company. To support this image, it demonstratively engages in a PR project to collect scrap metal that heavily litters the Arctic coastline of Russia.
However, the ships owned by ECO SHIPPING transport not only collected scrap metal but also Russian weapons. For example, the same POLAR KING has recently made freight from Arkhangelsk, Russia, to ports in the Eastern Mediterranean.
But let us return to the dangerous incident.
In early April this year, POLAR KING departed with cargo from St. Petersburg and Kaliningrad, calling at Mediterranean ports.
During the voyage, a technical failure occurred on board — the fecal pump broke down. Because of this unfortunate issue, the POLAR KING could not empty its overflowing sewage holding tanks.
The captain of the bulker and representatives of ECO SHIPPING took the decision that has become traditional for Russians — to “shit right there.” That is, without leaving the 12-nautical-mile zone, they discharged the hazardous waste directly at the roadstead.
The personal data of the individuals involved in this environmental incident are known. It is also clear that their decisions and actions constitute a gross violation of Annex IV to the MARPOL Convention, as well as environmental and maritime regulations.
A preliminary examination of the POLAR KING’s documentation suggests that the vessel’s technical certificates and compliance documents were issued by the Russian Maritime Register of Shipping in 2024–2025, apparently without proper verification.
This unsightly story involving POLAR KING, ECO SHIPPING, and Russian “sailor-losers” once again confirms the dangers their activities pose to navigation and the environment — in this case, to the Eastern Mediterranean.
Ivan Sinbadov, specially for CDN