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TankerTrackers: How Analysts Follow Sanctioned Oil Tankers

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WarBrief Live | October 23, 2026 | Intelligence Tool Profile

TankerTrackers.com is an independent maritime-intelligence firm that follows the “dark fleet” of oil tankers moving sanctioned crude around the world. Where most platforms rely on transponder data alone, its team combines satellite imagery, shoreside photography, and AIS records to visually identify vessels that try to disappear — making it a widely cited open source for investigations into sanctions-busting oil flows from Iran, Venezuela, and Russia.

At a glance

  • What: dark-fleet tanker intelligence — visual ship identification, satellite tracking, oil-export reports
  • Best for: sanctions-busting investigations, AIS-spoofing detection, shadow-fleet statistics
  • Cost: free public research and databases; paid subscriptions (~$99/month retail, ~$5,000/month corporate per its published tier page — verify current tiers)
  • Catch: AIS-dark tankers need satellite confirmation; export figures are modelled estimates, not measurements

What TankerTrackers does

The company is based in Stockholm, Sweden, and grew out of founder Samir Madani’s hobby of following ship movements in the #OOTT oil-trading community. Incorporated in 2018 with co-founders Lisa Ward and Breki Tomasson, it has indexed more than 9,000 ships, including over 3,300 large tankers, according to its own figures.

Its method is deliberately visual. The team works from Planet Labs satellite imagery, AIS position and draught data drawn from MarineTraffic, and shoreside photographers. Its analysts identify ships by hull features on magnified imagery, aided by a visual search engine that matches tankers (Panamax and larger) against its indexed imagery. Products include country oil-export reports, floating-storage analyses, and satellite visuals of clandestine activity.

Its free tier is unusually generous: dark-fleet statistics, a constantly updated blacklisted-tanker database, and a tracker of foreign vessels detained by Iran and the Houthis. Its early-2026 data lists 1,469 active dark-fleet vessels, with the largest sanctioned tradelanes being Iran to China (1,644,340 barrels per day), Russia to China (910,460), Russia to India (908,069), and Venezuela to China (554,748) — mostly sailing under the flags of Russia, Panama, Cameroon, Sierra Leone, Iran, and Comoros.

How analysts use it

The core use is AIS-spoofing detection: compare a vessel’s claimed AIS position with a visual satellite fix, and a mismatch means the ship is almost certainly spoofing. The technique was central to investigations of tankers moving sanctioned Iranian cargo, including a U.S.-seized vessel whose AIS claimed it was off Guyana while imagery showed it near Venezuela. Sanctions researchers use the country export reports to estimate how much sanctioned oil is actually moving — flows official statistics undercount. Its tracking of the Adrian Darya 1 saga in 2019–2020, including the tanker’s ship-to-ship transfers off Syria, cemented its reputation in maritime OSINT.

TankerTrackers sits downstream of tools like MarineTraffic: the AIS platform supplies position data, and TankerTrackers provides the visual verification that catches what AIS misses. For background on the phenomenon it monitors, see our explainer on how shadow fleets and ghost tankers work.

Access and pricing

Research entries, dark-fleet statistics, the blacklisted-tanker database, and the detained-vessel tracker are free and marked public. Paid access adds the full research library and tools: per the company’s tier overview (dated November 2022), the retail PremiumPlus plan costs $99/month or $999/year for individual use, while the Corporate plan at $5,000/month or $50,000/year targets maritime insurers, governments, and large commodity traders — including a visual-evidence library, the search engine, and SMS alerts when vessels are visually identified off places like Iran and Venezuela. Check the site for the current schedule.

Limitations

  • Coverage gaps: dark vessels must be caught on satellite imagery, which depends on revisit timing and weather — not every dark transit is captured.
  • Estimates, not measurements: barrel counts and export volumes are modelled from observed traffic; treat them as directional.
  • ID friction: repaints, reflagging, spoofed identities, and ship-to-ship transfers mean a visual ID is strong evidence but not always conclusive.
  • Small team: curated coverage prioritized by the analysts’ judgment; larger commercial shops such as Kpler pair automated tracking with broader commodity data.
  • Paywall: the deepest data — the evidence library and full reports — sits behind subscription tiers.

Used within those limits — as an independent, checkable source rather than a sole authority — it remains one of the most useful tools in maritime OSINT. Browse the rest in the WarBrief tools index.

Frequently asked questions

Is TankerTrackers free to use?
Partly. Research articles, dark-fleet statistics, the blacklisted-tanker database, and the detained-vessel tracker are free. The full research library, evidence archive, visual search engine, and SMS alerts require a subscription.

How is it different from MarineTraffic?
MarineTraffic tracks vessels from AIS transponder data, which ships can switch off or spoof. TankerTrackers layers satellite imagery and visual ship identification on top, specifically to catch the vessels AIS alone cannot resolve.

Can it identify a tanker that turned off its AIS?
Yes, if the vessel appears in satellite or shoreside imagery — analysts identify ships by hull and superstructure features. But coverage is not exhaustive: some dark transits fall between satellite revisits.

Sources

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