A small Indonesian island near Singapore has emerged as a major transit point for Russian oil flowing into Asian markets, according to a Bloomberg investigation.
The island of Karimun, which sits close to one of the world's busiest shipping lanes, has been used to funnel at least $1.6 billion worth of Moscow's diesel, fuel oil, and other petroleum products into major markets across the region.
Bloomberg's reporting identifies Karimun as a hub in the network that has allowed Russian energy exports to continue reaching buyers in Asia despite Western sanctions imposed following the invasion of Ukraine. The island's proximity to Singapore, a global shipping and trading center, makes it a convenient waypoint for vessels moving Russian cargo before it enters broader regional trade flows.
The $1.6 billion figure represents the value of tracked shipments and may not capture the full scale of the activity. Russian oil exported through such shadow networks has been a persistent challenge for Western governments attempting to enforce price caps and sanctions regimes. Intermediary locations like Karimun allow cargoes to change hands or be blended before reaching end buyers, complicating efforts to trace the origin of the fuel.
Russia has continued to export significant volumes of oil since the invasion of Ukraine in 2022, with much of the redirected flow going to buyers in Asia, including India and China. The use of small island transshipment points represents one method by which that trade has been structured to avoid direct exposure to Western financial systems and shipping insurers.