--- title: "US Prepares Mechanism to Legalize Part of 'Shadow Fleet' Tankers: Sanctions Not Lifted, but Vessel Status Changes" description: "US Energy Minister Chris Wright stated that the Trump administration is developing a mechanism allowing part of the 'shadow fleet' tankers to legally transport oil without lifting sanctions." date: 2026-10-20T01:58:22.368Z lang: en url: https://xab.info/en/posts/us-prepares-mechanism-to-legalize-shadow-fleet-tankers tags: [us-sanctions, shadow-fleet, oil-tankers, trump-administration, energy-policy] author: "Darya Fomina" publisher: "XAB.info" --- # US Prepares Mechanism to Legalize Part of 'Shadow Fleet' Tankers: Sanctions Not Lifted, but Vessel Status Changes ![Silhouette of an oil tanker in the sun rays at sea near the coast](https://xab.info/media/2026/10/20/ssha-gotovyat-mehanizm-legalizacii-tenevogo-flota/ssha-gotovyat-mehanizm-legalizacii-tenevogo-flota-1.webp) ## Key Points - The Trump administration has initiated a procedure allowing some sanctioned tankers to return to legal oil transport. - US Energy Minister Chris Wright stated at a Citadel Securities event in New York that this concerns changing vessel status rather than lifting sanctions. - Investors propose buying up tankers idle due to sanctions, repairing them, and using them to transport oil not subject to restrictions. - Washington emphasizes that sanctions against vessels that transported Russian and Iranian oil are not being lifted. The administration of US President Donald Trump has initiated a procedure that Washington claims will allow some sanctioned tankers to return to legal oil transport. US Energy Minister Chris Wright announced this on Monday, October 19, 2026, during a Citadel Securities event in New York. According to him, the department is developing an approval mechanism that will enable some vessels previously operating around restrictions to be used in a legal status—while the sanctions package itself, Wright emphasized, is not being lifted. ### Turning the 'Bad Guy Fleet' into the 'Good Guy Fleet' Commenting on the initiative, the US Energy Minister used a characteristic formulation: «We will transition some vessels from what I call the bad guy fleet to the good guy fleet. They will no longer transport oil subject to sanctions». Thus, according to him, this is not about lifting restrictions on specific vessels, but about changing their legal status and the profile of the cargo they carry. ### Investors Offer to Buy Up Idle Vessels Wright added that the market is already hearing proposals from investors to buy up tankers standing idle due to sanctions, repair them, and put them into operation to transport oil not subject to restrictions. According to the administration's plan, it is precisely this approval mechanism that is being developed in the White House and the Ministry of Energy to provide a legal basis for such operations. ### Washington Emphasizes: Sanctions Are Not Lifted Separately, the minister emphasized that the Trump administration is not lifting sanctions against vessels that previously transported oil from Russia and Iran. «We are turning shadow fleet tankers into legal ones. There is no lifting of sanctions», Wright stated. According to him, the key difference of the new approach is that vessels granted an agreed status will only be able to work with volumes of oil that do not fall under current restrictions. ### Significance of the Initiative for the Market The initiative affects the so-called «shadow fleet»—a network of tankers that, according to Western agencies, were used to bypass export restrictions. The introduction of a legalization procedure for some of these vessels could change the balance of power in the tanker shipping market and create an additional channel for the legal use of idle vessels. At the same time, as Washington emphasizes, the sanctions regime against Russian and Iranian oil remains in place, and the new rules apply exclusively to changing the status of specific vessels and the nature of the cargo transported. You can read more about the further development of US sanctions policy against Russia and related topics in the RBC-Ukraine article «Ultimatum Without Guarantees. How Trump is Twisting Zelenskyy's Arms While Putin Prepares a Hard Winter». ## Fact-Check & Sources - [У Трампа подтвердили, что США позволят части танкеров "теневого флота" работать легально](https://www.rbc.ua/ukr/news/trampa-pidtverdili-shcho-ssha-dozvolyat-chastini-1792455471.html) - Primary source: statement by US Energy Minister Chris Wright at a Citadel Securities event in New York (Monday, 19.10.2026). Confirms the fact of the statement and the content of the initiative; the mechanism is described as being under development, implementation is not confirmed. - [В администрации Трампа заявили, что не позволят Кубе стать базой для операций против США](https://www.gazeta.ru/politics/news/2026/09/29/29414671.shtml) - The source contains no data on the topic of tanker legalization; used only as general context regarding the Trump administration. - [Эмманюэль Макрон и другие лидеры поздравили Дональда Трампа с победой на выборах президента США](https://www.rfi.fr/ru/%D0%B2-%D0%BC%D0%B8%D1%80%D0%B5/20241106-%D1%8D%D0%BC%D0%BC%D0%B0%D0%BD%D1%8E%D1%8D%D0%BB%D1%8C-%D0%BC%D0%B0%D0%BA%D1%80%D0%BE%D0%BD-%D0%B8-%D0%B4%D1%80%D1%83%D0%B3%D0%B8%D0%B5-%D0%BB%D0%B5%D0%B4%D0%B5%D1%80%D1%8B-%D0%BF%D0%BE%D0%B7%D0%B4%D1%80%D0%B0%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%BB%D0%B8-%D0%B4%D0%BE%D0%BD%D0%B0%D0%BB%D1%8C%D0%B4%D0%B0-%D1%82%D1%80%D0%B0%D0%BC%D0%BF%D0%B0-%D1%81-%D0%BF%D0%BE%D0%B1%D0%B5%D0%B4%D0%BE%D0%B9-%D0%BD%D0%B0-%D0%B2%D1%8B%D0%B1%D0%BE%D1%80%D0%B0%D1%85-%D0%BF%D1%80%D0%B5%D0%B7%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BD%D1%82%D0%B0) - The source contains no data on the topic of tanker legalization; used only as general context. ## FAQ ### Is the US lifting sanctions against 'shadow fleet' tankers? No. According to US Energy Minister Chris Wright, sanctions are not being lifted; it is an approval mechanism that will allow some vessels to change status and transport only oil not subject to restrictions. ### Who announced this initiative and where? The initiative was announced by US Energy Minister Chris Wright during a Citadel Securities event in New York on Monday, October 19, 2026. ### What is proposed to be done with idle sanctioned tankers? According to Wright, investors propose buying up tankers idle due to sanctions, repairing them, and using them to transport oil not subject to restrictions.