---
title: "Mercenaries on Board: How the Wagner PMC and SVO Veterans Guard Russia's Shadow Fleet"
description: "An international investigation has revealed that since the spring of 2025, mercenaries without maritime documents have been serving on board Russia's shadow fleet. 🚢🔫 Journalists identified 83 individuals with combat experience in Ukraine and Syria, including Wagner PMC employees, whose task is to guarantee oil delivery at any cost. 🛢️🌍"
date: 2026-06-09T10:02:00.000Z
lang: en
url: https://xab.info/en/posts/mercenaries-on-board-how-the-wagner-pmc-and-sov-veterans-guard-russias-shadow-fleet
tags: []
publisher: "XAB.info"
---

# Mercenaries on Board: How the Wagner PMC and SVO Veterans Guard Russia's Shadow Fleet

![Tanker DEYNA in open sea, symbolizing Russia's shadow fleet, guarded by mercenaries from PMC Wagner and SVO veterans.](https://xab.info/media/2026/06/09/naemniki-na-bortu-kak-chv-vagner-i-veterany-so-okhranyayut-tenevoy-flot-rossii/naemniki-na-bortu-kak-chv-vagner-i-veterany-so-okhranyayut-tenevoy-flot-rossii-1.webp)

Russia's shadow fleet, designed to circumvent Western sanctions on oil, has undergone radical changes in its security structure. In the spring of 2025, individuals began appearing on board tankers who possessed no maritime documents but had combat experience against Ukraine. This is evidenced by a large-scale international investigation conducted by a consortium of 13 publications, including the Dossier Center, and published by RBK-Ukraine.

### Scale of the Investigation: 325,000 Records

Journalists conducted a detailed analysis of data covering the period from January 2023 to mid-April 2026. During the audit, crew lists of more than two thousand vessels were examined, which had been sanctioned by the US and EU, as well as included in the list of the Main Directorate of Intelligence (GUR) of Ukraine.

In total, researchers processed about 325,000 records related to nearly 16,000 voyages. These data contain detailed information: surnames, dates of birth, passport numbers, as well as positions and qualifications of crew members. It was precisely this mass of information that allowed the identification of anomalies in the staffing of Russian tankers.

### 83 People Without a Maritime Past

Among thousands of legitimate sailors, researchers identified a group of 83 people. They are united by one critical factor: the absence of maritime documents. These people have neither a seaman's passport nor a diploma, nor any maritime qualification.

Nevertheless, these people appear in the crew lists of 65 different tankers. In total, their names appear 306 times. In 32 cases, their position on the ship is officially designated as "guard." Essentially, we are talking about mercenaries integrated into the structure of civilian shipping.

### Connection with PMCs and Combat Experience

The identities of these individuals were verified using leaks of personal data and internal documents of the "Wagner" group. The investigation showed that at least 28 people from this group served in private military companies.

Furthermore, the data indicates that another 48 of the 83 identified individuals likely have combat experience gained in recent years in Syria. One of the key figures identified by journalists was Dmitry Savitsky. He is known for fighting on the side of Russian forces in eastern Ukraine since 2014.

### Oil Protection Strategy

According to the findings of the investigators, PMC employees and veterans of conflicts effectively controlled the crews. Their presence on board was intended to guarantee the uninterrupted delivery of oil to buyers, even if European countries attempted to forcibly stop a tanker.

Previously, RBK-Ukraine reported that Russia planned to deploy warships and mobile fire groups to guard the vessels of the shadow fleet. The impetus for such measures was Moscow's concerns due to increased pressure on tankers from the West.

The situation at sea is changing. On June 1, military personnel boarded a sanctioned tanker in the Mediterranean Sea for the first time as part of Operation IRINI. Until this point, the mission was limited to observation only; however, the appearance of armed mercenaries on civilian vessels could provoke a new escalation in maritime security issues.