Bulk carrier, LADY AYANA (IMO: 9196395) ran aground at Bakirkoy anchorage, Turkey on 28 June 2024. The vessel is currently reported to be at anchor at the anchorage and is being attended to by Coastal Safety tugs. Transporting wheat from Russia to Tunisia ran aground off the coast of Istanbul in the Marmara SeaÂ
According to reports from the Demiroren news agency, the vessel known as the “Lady Ayana” anchored off the Bakirkoy region on Istanbul’s European side before running aground.The 169-meter-long ship has crossed the Bosphorus Strait from the Black Sea to the Marmara Sea and was scheduled to continue its journey to the Aegean Sea and then the Mediterranean Sea.The cause of the grounding is yet to be known.
Related : Ukraine seizes one of Russia’s “shadow fleet” ships
The Turkish Ministry of Transport and Infrastructure’s Coastal Safety Directorate responded by launching rescue operations. It is possible that General Average / Salvage and associated recovery issues may arise as a result of this casualty.
The vessel is en route to TUNISIA, and expected to arrive there on Jul 5, 22:00. The vessel LADY AYANA (, MMSI 314681000) is a Bulk Carrier built in 1999 (25 years old) and currently sailing under the flag of Barbados.
Russia’s shadow fleet
On the other hand Russia’s shadow fleet aspirations, have been counteracted by an aggressive sanctions campaign by Western nations. In early 2025, the EU, U.K., and U.S. collectively initiated sweeping new sanctions on Russian ships, sharply raising both the number of sanctioned ships and the share of shadow fleet ships subject to sanctions. Below, we document these trends in detail and suggest several additional sanctions measures.
Sanctions on Russia’s shadow fleet
Sanctions on Russia’s shadow fleet are an especially important topic currently, because the U.S.—in an effort to negotiate an end to the war in Ukraine—is offering to lift sanctions on Russia. It is therefore critically important to understand how impactful Western sanctions are and what role they play in constraining Russia.
