Massive dark fleet: Europe reveals hundreds of tankers smuggling oil past sanctions
Photo: The scale of shadow oil shipments circumventing sanctions has been revealed in Europe (Getty Images)
Hundreds of clandestine oil tankers are sailing the world's seas under flags of convenience and with opaque owners to transport oil in circumvention of international sanctions against Russia, Iran, and North Korea, the French newspaper Le Monde reports.
According to a French admiral, the French government inspects about 10 such vessels daily, while globally there may be up to 900 "ghost tankers."
"The actions of the government are, first and foremost, particularly thorough monitoring of this fleet, which is estimated to consist of about 900 vessels, around ten of which are checked daily in the English Channel," the media resource quotes the official.
In particular, the official emphasized that these vessels are linked not only to Russian but also to Iranian and North Korean interests.
The admiral explained that such ships exploit weaknesses in international maritime law and the lack of oversight. These are mostly old medium-sized tankers bought by unknown companies. They often do not meet even minimum safety standards, and their insurance is highly questionable.
As the media outlet notes, within the framework of the EU's 18th sanctions package proposed by the European Commission, the European Union plans to add another 70 "ghost tankers" used by Moscow to the blacklist. Currently, 342 vessels are already on the list.
At the same time, Estonia's Defense Minister Hanno Pevkur estimated the size of Russia's shadow fleet at about 500 tankers.
Earlier, on June 27, an explosion occurred in the engine room of the tanker Vilamoura, which belongs to Russia's shadow fleet. The incident happened 150 km northeast of Libya's territorial waters.
Sanctions against Russia's shadow fleet
Recently, the UK government imposed a new package of sanctions against Russia. According to official information, the restrictions target the shadow fleet and companies that support Russia's military aggression against Ukraine.
Also in June, Australia imposed restrictions for the first time against the Kremlin's shadow fleet: dozens of tankers that financed Moscow's military aggression came under sanctions.
For more details about Russia's shadow fleet, read our material on the topic.
