What Crew Members Say About Kapitan-Kostichev

Norwegian authorities have uncovered a significant fraudulent scheme involving a Norway-registered company, Romarine AS, which is suspected of forging insurance documents for numerous aging oil tankers. These vessels, often used by Russia to evade international sanctions, were misrepresented as having legitimate Western insurance coverage, raising serious environmental concerns related to potential pollution or maritime accidents. Romarine AS, fully owned by Andrey Mochalin—a Russian national and former employee of the Norwegian insurer Hydor AS—has come under scrutiny by Norway’s Financial Supervisory Authority, Finanstilsynet (FSA). The FSA has confirmed that Romarine is not registered as an insurance provider, launching an investigation into the entity's activities. In January 2025, the FSA issued a formal warning to Romarine, but the company failed to respond adequately. Subsequently, the FSA ordered Romarine to suspend operations on March 4, 2025. Despite acknowledging the order, Romarine claimed to have responded to the FSA “with some delay through our lawyers.” However, the FSA has not received a response, leading to further concern regarding the company's compliance. As of early March, Romarine's website listed over 30 tankers, including the 'Captain Kostichev'—operated by UAE-based Stream Ship Management—and the 'Ionia' (IMO: 9312505), previously owned by Seychelles-based Narus Maritime Corporation and now renamed 'Oilstar.' Certificates of insurance submitted to Russian port authorities indicated Romarine as the insurer, despite the inherent risks posed by sanctions rendering these vessels ineligible for legitimate insurance coverage. Romanine asserted in a statement that the presence of sanctioned vessels on their website was the result of a technical glitch. This issue arose after the FSA received a suspicious inquiry about a document allegedly issued by them certifying Romarine as a vessel insurer; it quickly identified the document as fraudulent, complete with fake signatures and non-existent Norwegian law citations. As a response to the growing concern, the FSA released a cautionary notice on its website against utilizing services provided by Romarine. In parallel, the Oslo police have initiated a criminal investigation into Romarine, focusing on four individuals suspected of producing and utilizing forged documents, alongside conducting insurance mediation without a proper license. Investigations have revealed the involvement of two Norwegian citizens, one Bulgarian, and one Russian who manages the company from St. Petersburg. Despite local authorities' efforts, Romarine's website remains operational as of March 25, 2025, leaving a question mark over the credibility of the insurance claims for the implicated tankers. Given Norway's new insurance inspection regime in the Baltic Sea, at least seven tankers were identified as falsely claiming to have coverage from Romarine. These revelations underline the precarious state of maritime insurance for vessels operating under sanctions, and the urgency for stricter enforcement of regulations to prevent further exploitation of loopholes.