Western experts warn of danger from Russia's 'dark fleet'
(Baonghean.vn) - SCMP (Hong Kong) reported that to circumvent Western sanctions, Russia has established a "dark fleet", including hundreds of ships with unknown ownership and no insurance. At the same time, they are constantly near the European coast. This is considered a dangerous weapon of Russia.
RT on February 4 quoted an article in the South China Morning Post (SCMP) saying that the "shadow fleet" is growing in number, helping Moscow successfully circumvent the law on oil export restrictions. However, experts warn that the old ships used in this process can pose environmental risks.
The "Dark Fleet" is a fleet consisting of commercial vessels that are not from countries in the European Union (EU) and G7, and do not use P&I (Protection and Indemnity) insurance during transportation.
In fact, companies in the EU, G7 and Australia have been banned from providing services to Russia to transport goods by sea with restrictions, including Russian oil insurance.
To circumvent these sanctions, Russia began looking for alternatives in the maritime services market, ending cooperation with Western shipping lines, buying more tankers and providing them with their own insurance, according to SCMP. Experts say this has allowed the Kremlin to create a “shadow fleet” to continue actively exporting its oil, despite the embargo imposed by the West.
Since the conflict in Ukraine began in February 2022, the number of tankers with “unclear ownership” or without P&I insurance has increased sharply, according to Rystand Energy estimates. As a result, Western efforts to cap prices at $60 a barrel have been ineffective as Russia has found new buyers and new tankers to transport its oil.
“There is nothing unusual about this,” said Elina Rybakova, director of international programs at the Kiev School of Economics, who said “dark fleets” are often used by other countries to circumvent the limitations of traditional business models, such as high insurance costs.
Such vessels now transport more than 70% of Russia’s oil by sea, according to Ms. Rybakova’s estimates. In a November 2023 report, data from the Kiev School of Economics showed that 179 tankers from the “dark fleet” left Russian ports loaded with oil.
A similar scheme is also used by other countries such as Iran and Venezuela - countries that are under US oil sanctions, said Atlantic Council expert Elizabeth Brough.
According to the Atlantic Council, the “dark fleet” can actually be considered Russia’s environmental weapon, because in the event of an accident at sea or an oil spill, Western countries supporting Ukraine could directly suffer damage./.
