🕳️ Released Phantom Node 78: The Petroleum Currency Artery — Shadow Fleet & Petro-chem Channels
- Foundation date
21 October 2025
This project is a philosophical and artistic study of the phenomenon of "phantom nodes" — invisible yet influential objects and subjects in the contemporary global system. The descriptions contained within this study are metaphorical and allegorical, aimed at uncovering systemic problems, regimes, and civilisational influences. They are not a journalistic investigation or legal accusations, but serve as an artistic interpretation of reality.
Names are included because they appear in open international sources.
This creation is protected and cannot be used by third parties for the purpose of supporting, propagating, or legitimizing criminal regimes, terrorist states, and organizations operating in the shadows. The use of data or analysis results from this project, whether in part or in full, is expressly prohibited if the objective is to support or conceal their criminal activity.
The project may be freely used by individuals and organizations that combat evil, corruption, and aggression.
Mode: Energy Obfuscation. Shadow Export Infrastructure
🕳️ Released Phantom Node 78: The Petroleum Currency Artery — Shadow Fleet & Petro-chem Channels
Systematic falsification of the origin and destination of Iranian crude oil, petroleum products, and petrochemical output
Who is this?
A maritime and trade network that converts oil and petrochemical output into hard currency despite sanctions: ageing tankers operating as a shadow fleet, STS transfers, shell brokers and petrochemical re-routes that together sustain covert export revenues.
Type of node:
Export/transit infrastructure (maritime + trade + petrochemicals).
Status:
Operating in grey zones of international waters and trade rules; protected by complex webs of front companies.
Form of control:
Ghost tankers, AIS shutdowns, ship-to-ship transshipment, falsified certificates of origin, intermediary brokers in permissive jurisdictions, re-routing via petrochemical channels.
Phantom image:
Two hulking, weathered tankers moored close at night, linked by transfer hoses; dim, turned-off beacons flicker in the distance.
What remains after the phantom:
Obscured cargo trails, altered manifests and shell contracts — traces that dissolve into the sea.
Core of the node:
What sustained it?
Control over export logistics, a network of shipowners and brokers, access to regional terminals, and operational tactics (AIS manipulation, false paperwork) that enable masking origin and destination.
How did it become a phantom?
By dispersing operations across vessels, flags and corporate facades until ownership and origin are effectively anonymized.
Why does the phantom still exist?
Because hydrocarbon revenues are central; when formal channels close, shadow mechanisms evolve to preserve liquidity.
Phantom’s condition:
Active, concealed, environmentally hazardous.
After the regime:
— Tracking and interdiction of STS routes;
— sanctions and asset freezes on intermediary networks;
— multinational efforts to secure transparent export chains.
Collective reaction:
Resources must not become a tool for impunity. Maritime safety and environmental protection are global responsibilities.
Core principle:
When oil flows into shadow channels, security — financial and ecological — is compromised.
Alt-text:
Graphite drawing: a nocturnal ship-to-ship oil transfer between two ageing tankers at sea, shrouded in darkness to emphasize secrecy and risk.
#ReleasedPhantomNodes #ReleasedPhantomNode #PetroleumArtery #ShadowFleet #ShipToShip #Petrochem #EnergyObfuscation #ShadowExport #AISOff #TradeMisinvoicing #FrontCompanies #Brokers #OilExports #SanctionsEvasion #Transshipment #OffshoreTransfers #GhostTankers #EnvironmentalRisk #MaritimeSecurity #HiddenExports #OilRoutes #ProxyFinance #ShadowLogistics #PetroDollars #STSTransfers #ShippingFraud #OpaqueTrade #PivtorakStudio #MemoryOn
Unmasking the Phantom. Pivtorak.Studio. 21.10.2025
🛡️ This project is an artistic and philosophical exploration. All depictions are allegorical; the piece does not allege facts about specific private individuals without corroborated evidence.
Names are included because they appear in open international sources.
🫧 Phantom Node Dossier 78: Oil Currency Artery: Shadow Fleet and Petrochemistry. The "Energy Obfuscation" Regime.
Key Aspects of the Phantom:
"The Energy Obfuscation Regime" (or "Shadow Export Infrastructure"). The essence of this node is the systematic falsification of the origin and destination of Iranian crude oil, petroleum products, and petrochemical output. This is achieved through the "Shadow Fleet" (old tankers turning off transponders), shell companies in key jurisdictions (UAE, Malaysia, PRC), and ship-to-ship operations, enabling the IRGC and its financial wings to generate hard currency despite international sanctions.
Regimes (which it directly shapes/supports):
🌑 Regime of "Invisible Export": Widespread use of ghost tankers and the disabling of the Automatic Identification System (AIS) to conceal the location and transshipment of oil in neutral waters, complicating tracking.
📜 Regime of "False Certification": Utilizing a network of intermediaries and facade companies to provide false Certificates of Origin for oil, converting "Iranian" oil into "Malaysian" or "Iraqi" crude.
🏭 Regime of "Petrochemical Cover": Shifting some revenue generation into the less scrutinized petrochemical sector, which faces less stringent international sanctions and has a less transparent supply chain.
⚓ Regime of "Maritime Dominance": Physical control over key maritime routes and terminals (often supported by IRGC/IRISL), ensuring the secure transit of Iranian products.
Tools (which it actively uses/oversees):
🚢 Ghost Tankers: A fleet of aging vessels, often flying third-country flags, that perform ship-to-ship (STS) transfers to mix or offload cargo, changing its identity.
🗺️ Intermediary Companies: A network of trading and brokerage firms registered in friendly jurisdictions that officially buy and sell oil, acting as a "buffer" between the Iranian seller and the final buyer (predominantly the PRC).
💰 FX Wallets (Foreign Exchange): Special accounts or crypto wallets for receiving payments in Yuan or other local currencies, which are then converted into usable hard currency for procurement.
📡 AIS Spoofing/Disabling: Technological means to deactivate or manipulate the Automatic Identification System signals of vessels, enabling unauthorized movement and maneuvering.
Civilizational Influences (which it embodies/exploits):
💸 Funding Evil: The direct financial sustenance of Iran's entire military vertical, from nuclear development to the supply of weapons to aggressors.
🚨 Global Environmental Threat: The use of an aging "shadow fleet" (which often ignores safety standards) creates an increased threat of environmental disaster in international waters.
⚖️ Undermining International Law: Systematic violation of maritime rules and international trade law (through false certification) sets a precedent of impunity for other sanctioned regimes.
⛽ Sponsorship of Wars: Providing the necessary currency cushion for the regime, enabling it to sustain military aggression and support for proxy forces, leading to regional destabilization.
Dissection of a Phantom Node. Pivtorak.Studio. 21.10.2025
🛡️ This project is an artistic and philosophical exploration. Depictions are allegorical and do not allege facts about private individuals without corroborated evidence.
Names are included because they appear in open international sources.
