Despite Russia facing ever-tightening sanctions over its invasion of Ukraine, it has managed to keep up a steady trade with international markets, thanks to the Bosphorus waterway through Istanbul. RFI spoke to one man whose hobby is helping to thwart Russian sanctions-busting.
Watching closely with his camera and telescopic lens, Yoruk Isik can see a Russian cargo ship announce its passage through the Bosphorus waterway on its way from a Black Sea Port to international markets.
"I'm interested in Russian foreign policy, and watching ships on the Bosphorus really gives clues about Russian foreign policy and what they are doing, who they're engaging [with]," Isik tells RFI.
"If there's a ship that I'm really, really interested in, I can go down by the water and take a better picture and explain the significance of it," he adds.
Isik is an international analyst whose hobby for more than a decade is monitoring ships passing through Istanbul's Bosphorus waterway, known to locals as "the throat".
Special place
The waterway divides the city of 20 million people between Asia and Europe and is the only outlet for the Black Sea.
"Here you can be in a cafe or tea house or walking on the street, and you can literally see the ships are passing, you know, hundreds of metres away from it. You can do without any special equipment. You can just read the ship [name], and follow the ship. So in that sense, it is a very special place," Isik says.
He also points out that the waterway is essential for Russian trade and major military exports.
"All its military naval connection to the Mediterranean happens through the Bosphorus, and most of the ships passing in from the Bosphorus are related to Russia. This is the vital commercial and military route for Russia," he says.
Russia also happens to be the world's most sanctioned country.
"Most of the people who are engaged in trade with Russia are trying to hide their activities because they are worried that somehow some sanctions will come back and harm them," Isik says.
Watching Russian ships
Since Russia's invasion of Ukraine, Isik has been focusing on Russian ships, working with an international network of volunteers and non-government organisations that share data online on their movement.
Isik's website and Twitter have become a go-to resource for media.
With ships often turning off their Automatic Identification System (AIS) that allows them to be tracked by international authorities, monitoring efforts by people like Isik are vital, say organisations that work to expose Russian sanction-busting ships.
"I think this ship monitoring is very valuable," explains George Voloshin, a global financial crime expert at ACAMS, a US-based watchdog.
"A common technique is to manipulate your AIS signal by just turning down your transponder or trying to manipulate it."
"This makes it appear that the ship is in a different place, in a different location. All those leads are potentially valuable," he adds.
Monitoring by the likes of Isik has helped expose Russia's exports of stolen Ukrainian grain and coal from Black Sea ports that it occupied in Ukraine.
Moscow has denied the accusations.
Turkish jurisdiction
The waters off Istanbul are under limited Turkish jurisdiction and are an international hub for hundreds of empty cargo ships and tankers that frequently change owners.
Experts say this makes tracking difficult and creates conditions favourable to those seeking to circumvent a long list of sanctions.
"There are lots of ships here. There's a good ship market," says Isik.
"At the same time, Turkey offers major quality shipyards immediately to the east of Istanbul, actually violating sanctions more than the anchorage area in the shipyard. It's because Turkey is not part of EU and the US sanctions, which are not necessarily universal," Isik explains.
"We see many sanctioned vessels come in to get services from the shipyards to the east of Istanbul, and they are not breaking any domestic laws."
Ankara refuses to enforce many international sanctions against Russia, claiming they're not bound by them.
Trade between Russia and Turkey has surged since Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine. It is set to grow further, with Turkish and Russian Presidents committing themselves to increasing trade from $70 to $100 billion.
That means more ships for Isik to follow.
