“Shadow” Squadron
Russian oil still finds buyers around the world. informs CNN channel. According to him, “those who watch its movement across the oceans cannot pinpoint who transported it.”
As Western sanctions against Russia intensified over its invasion of Ukraine, more ships have joined the existing fleet of mysterious tankers ready to facilitate the export of Russian oil. Industry experts estimate that this “shadow” fleet is around 600 ships, or about 10% of the world’s major tankers. And the numbers keep growing,” the article says.
Journalists noted who owned and operated these ships “remains a mystery”. Since last year, many Western shippers have refused to interact with Russia because of the sanctions, but “new, little-known players have emerged, including in some cases shell companies in Dubai or Hong Kong.” At the same time, according to the TV channel, some bought tankers from Europeans, while others used “old ships”, which should have been in the landfill.
The stealth fleet has grown in importance as Moscow tries to avoid cooperating with Western shippers and customers in China and India exclude Europeans, who are now banned from purchasing refined products such as Russian oil and diesel.
Journalists believe that shipowners are “prepared to deal with the additional complexities and legal risks” associated with the G7 countries raising Russian oil prices.
The article also says that “the world’s second-largest oil exporter” has reversed decades-old trade patterns in its quest to maintain its operations and “divides the world’s energy system in two.”
“There is a fleet that does no Russian business, and there is a fleet that does almost exclusively Russian business. Only a few ships do both, Richard Matthews, head of research at international shipping commissioner EA Gibson, told CNN.
“Gray” ships and “dark”
The material also cites International Energy Agency data, which states that China increased its Russian oil imports to an average of 1.9 million barrels per day in 2022, 19% more than in 2021. In contrast, India increased purchases by 800% to an average of 900,000 barrels per day.
According to the analyst’s data, “Russia’s oil exports to China and India reached a record high in January after the European ban on the transport of Russian oil by sea came into effect. Kpler firm cited the authors of the article.
Journalists believe that seaworthy ships are needed to fulfill these orders, but there are not enough ships in the Russian national fleet, so the “shadow” fleet came to the rescue.
In a conversation with CNN, Matthew Wright, senior freight analyst at Kpler, divided ships carrying Russian oil into two categories: “gray” ships and “dark” ships. According to him, the “gray” ships were sold by their owners in Europe to firms in the Middle East and Asia after the start of military special operations in Ukraine. And the “dark” ships are “veterans of the campaigns led by Iran and Venezuela to evade Western sanctions that have recently switched to transporting Russian oil.”
“There is often some evidence that they (the “dark” – socialbites.ca) hide their activity by turning off their AIS transponders, Wright said, referring to technology that helps identify and locate ships.
The “shadow” fleet was “as we all expected and it happened,” said Jeniv Shah, a senior analyst at consulting firm Rystad Energy. The article also provides data that this fleet is replenished with 25-35 ships monthly. The nonprofit Global Witness estimates that “a quarter of oil tanker sales between late February 2022 and January this year were to unknown buyers, roughly double that of last year.”
Richard Matthews, head of research at EA Gibson, believes that “the likelihood of a major leak or accident is increasing day by day” as “older ships, possibly unfit for purpose” are emerging in the “shadow” fleet.
“The dark fleet is believed to have a large contingent of ships over 15 years old, where major oil companies routinely disable them for wear and tear. More and more of these vessels now fly around the world,” the article explains.