The facts: three flags, two names and three owners in eighteen months; nine days without AIS, one transfer at sea, two transits without escort, one delivery confirmed at the quay.
Grey areas: the origin of the cargo, the real beneficiary behind the fourteen companies, the insurance cover actually in force.
What to watch: EU or OFAC designation in the next package, probable; a new flag before summer, probable; detention at the next inspection, possible.
Key facts
- Subject:
- Nerium Star, ex-Ostara Pearl, Aframax, 105,000 dwt, built 2007
- 3 flags, 2 names and 3 owners in 18 months
- Route tracking, presence and locations confirmed:
- October 2025 – May 2026
- Verdict:
- high probability of shadow-fleet membership, cargo deliberately concealed
- Confidence:
- high, four independent sources: maritime registers, AIS positions, satellite imagery, visual confirmation by a human source on 24 May 2026 at Vadinar
Summary
Bought in November 2024 by Sabrecrest Maritime Ltd, a Marshall Islands company set up eleven weeks earlier, managed from Dubai at an address shared by fourteen companies; three distinct owners for the same hull in eighteen months. Gabon, Comoros, Cameroon: three flags, a new name in January 2026, no International Group insurer. Nine days without AIS in the Laconian Gulf; a satellite image of 22 April 2026 and the draught when the signal resumed show the vessel leaving loaded. No escort visible through Suez and Bab el-Mandeb; discharge at Vadinar on 24 May 2026, confirmed at the quay.
Findings
- 1
18 months: 3 flags, 2 names, deliveries confirmed, cargo unknown
Gabon in November 2024, Comoros in June 2025, declared a fraudulent flag in August 2025, Cameroon in January 2026. Ostara Pearl becomes Nerium Star the same month. Same IMO number. On 24 May 2026, at the quay in Vadinar, a source reads the name and the Cameroonian flag on the hull.
Sources: Equasis · IMO GISIS · human source, Vadinar, 24 May 2026
- 2
1 address, 14 single-ship companies
Sabrecrest Maritime Ltd, Marshall Islands, incorporated eleven weeks before the purchase, $34 M. Manager: Qamar Ship Management FZE, Dubai, same address as fourteen companies that each own a single ship. In January 2026, with the new name, the vessel passes to a second company at the same address: third owner in eighteen months. Insurer: a Russian company designated by OFAC, outside the International Group.
Sources: Equasis · IMO GISIS · OFAC SDN list
- 3
9 days off the radar
Signal off from 18 to 27 April 2026 between Cape Matapan and Crete. Sentinel-2 image of 22 April 2026, Laconian Gulf: a hull the length of the Nerium Star, alongside another tanker. When the signal resumed, declared draught 15.0 m against 9.4 m at the cut-off, confirming a change of cargo.
Sources: AIS positions · Copernicus Sentinel-2
- 4
2 transits without escort
Suez on 12 May 2026, Bab el-Mandeb on 16 May 2026, no escort, inside the Joint War Committee listed area; five incidents reported to UKMTO that month. War-risk premium: 0.7% of hull value, $240k invoiced for this transit. Discharge at Vadinar on 24 May 2026.
Sources, whole report: maritime registers (Equasis, GISIS, Paris MoU), EU and OFAC lists, AIS positions, Sentinel-2 imagery, UKMTO and JMIC, Joint War Committee, human source at the quay.
Sources
- Maritime registers and sanctionsEquasis, IMO GISIS, Paris MoU (Augusta, October 2025, 23 deficiencies), EU and OFAC listsA1
- AIS positionscommercial provider: track, gap, declared draughtsB2
- Satellite imageryCopernicus Sentinel-2, 22 April 2026, Laconian GulfA3
- Human sourcereading at the quay, Vadinar, 24 May 2026B2
- Red Sea and insuranceUKMTO, JMIC, Joint War Committee, market reportsA2
Reading the grades: A to F, source reliability; 1 to 6, fact credibility.
What you receive
A summary report with maps, dates and findings; the sources in annex; a structured file for your own tools.
Investigation brief from $200.
The names of the vessels and companies have been changed.