Increased Use of Sanctioned Tankers by Russia for Oil Exports

Bloomberg reports that Russia is accelerating its use of sanctioned tankers for its oil exports. Tracking data shows that by mid-June this year, only one sanctioned tanker was transporting Russian oil and products, but this month six tankers sanctioned by the EU, UK, and US have entered the realm of transporting Russian oil and petroleum products. In total, since May of this year, 17 shipments of Russian oil have been sent to international markets by these tankers, most of which belong to the state-owned shipping company Sovcomflot. This Russian company has told Bloomberg that it has no connections with the US, UK, or EU, and therefore its activities do not constitute a violation or a tool to undermine sanctions. The report adds that immediately after sanctions against some tankers carrying Russian oil, most of them had halted operations for months, but the successful role of these sanctioned ships in sending oil shipments to China has prompted Russia to accelerate their use for oil exports. Previously, these tankers were used to transfer Russian oil shipments to other ships by turning off their automatic identification systems to conceal the oil's source. However, Bloomberg writes that sanctioned tankers no longer hide their activities and openly deliver shipments to destinations in India and China. Last month, six sanctioned tankers carried Russian oil shipments, and this month the same number of tankers have entered the oil transit area of Russia. Given the return of 11 sanctioned tankers in international waters to the port of Kozmino in waters near Japan, the anchoring of seven sanctioned tankers in the port of Ust-Luga near Estonian waters, and three other tankers in the Black Sea and two more in the port of Murmansk, Russia's potential for using these ships for oil shipments has increased. In addition to sanctioned tankers, Russia also uses ships known as the 'ghost fleet' for oil transportation. The ghost fleet refers to tankers that covertly deliver oil shipments to destination markets by turning off their automatic identification systems and employing various methods, including offloading oil shipments in the middle of oceans to other tankers and changing oil documents and branding. Previously, the tanker tracking company TankerTrackers reported that last year Russia exported 366,000 barrels of oil per day to China, 325,000 barrels to India, and 70,000 barrels to Turkey using these tankers. Notably, Iran's use of the ghost fleet for smuggling oil last year was 2.5 times that of Russia. A significant portion of these tankers has not yet been sanctioned by the West.