The activities of ocean-going vessels have been under a lot of scrutiny. Oleg Ustenko is an economics adviser to Volodymyr Zelensky and a leader of a government initiative called the Russian Tanker Tracking Group. Russia is desperately trying to finance its military machine with the help of a network of experts and spies, according to Dr Ustenko.
Most of Russia's energy shipments have remained legal despite the sanctions imposed by America and Europe. Many firms are avoiding dealing with entities or goods of Russian origin because of the outrage over its war on Ukraine. The value of detailed data on shipments has gone up as commodity markets have tightened. Even traders who don't buy illegal oil can make better decisions if they know how much Iran is exporting.