NPR.

This is the indicator from Planet Money, I'm Waylon Wong.

And I'm Patty Hirsch.

The Shadow Fleet.

Sounds like something out of a Tom Clancy novel, right?

Yes, or the next Mission Impossible movie that they're filming?

It is kind of impossible in a way.

The Shadow Fleet is the collective term for ships

that are being used by countries that have been sanctioned,

principally Russia, to transport commodities around the world and it represents a significant

and growing threat to global security as Russia uses it to evade sanctions.

It's also a significant and growing threat to the environment. Ships in the Shadow Fleet don't follow

international maritime law. That means they're usually old and rusty and often uninsured.

Yes, and dangerous. In 2002, a poorly inspected, ill-maintained tanker with uncertain ownership and registration spilled 63,000 tons of oil off the coast of Spain, and Spain ended up having to pay for the cleanup. A few weeks ago it looked as

though the same thing might happen to Denmark, where a shadow tanker on its way to pick up Russian

oil collided with another ship in the straits of Denmark.

On today's show we'll talk about why the Shadow Fleet exists, how it operates, and why it's

thriving, and why the international community is pretty much toothless when it comes to doing anything about it.

That's coming up after the break. This message comes from in PR sponsor Organic Valley, a co-op of small organic family farms.

Farmer Tyler Webb shares why caring for his land has always been a priority.

I'd like to contribute to my community an array of ecosystem services beyond just

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