His Majesty’s Government of Gibraltar wishes to clarify reports published by the Spanish newspaper Diario Área on 22 October 2026, under the headline “Un petrolero vinculado a la flota fantasma rusa fondea en Gibraltar”, concerning the presence of the tanker Gunmetal Jag in Gibraltar waters and its alleged links to the so-called Russian shadow fleet.

The Gibraltar Port Authority confirms it has carried out the relevant compliance checks, including reviewing information from specialist maritime intelligence and sanctions-monitoring platforms, including Lloyd’s List Intelligence and Kpler.

These checks confirm that the vessel is not currently subject to sanctions. Neither its registered owner nor its identified ship management company is listed as sanctioned.

The Government notes that the vessel has previously transported petroleum products originating in Russia. However, the transportation of Russian-origin cargo does not, in itself, establish a breach of international sanctions. The applicable restrictions depend on the nature of the cargo, the circumstances of the transaction and the relevant sanctions regime.

The Government also notes that the Gunmetal Jag recently called at the Spanish port of Santa Cruz de Tenerife, where it remained berthed between 3 August and 1 September 2026, according to Lloyd’s List Intelligence.

Gibraltar takes its international sanctions obligations extremely seriously. The Gibraltar Port Authority maintains established procedures for assessing vessels calling at Gibraltar, including appropriate compliance and due diligence checks.

While some of these important distinctions are acknowledged further down in the Diario Área article, its headline creates a clear insinuation of wrongdoing or irregularity associated with the vessel’s presence in Gibraltar. This impression is particularly misleading given that the article makes no mention of the vessel’s recent call at the Spanish port of Santa Cruz de Tenerife, where it remained for almost a month between August and September 2026.

The Government considers that omitting this relevant context, while presenting the vessel’s presence in Gibraltar in such suggestive terms, gives readers an unnecessarily distorted impression of the facts.

The Government considers it important that media reporting on these matters distinguishes between vessels that are subject to sanctions, vessels presenting potential compliance risks, and vessels found to have breached applicable restrictions.

The mere presence of a vessel with a history of transporting Russian-origin cargo does not establish that any breach of sanctions has occurred in Gibraltar.