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Mystery: Russia uses unknown fleet of 600 vessels to deliver oil around the world, even with Western sanctions

Written by Roberta Souza
Published 07/03/2023 às 12:16
russia, oil, vessels
Photo: Adapted reproduction PoderNaval

Tracking of Russian vessels does not know the source of the tanker fleet

Russia is finding new ways to get its oil to buyers around the world. Western sanctions against Russia have increased due to the invasion of Ukraine, and more vessels have joined an existing fleet of unknown tankers to help deliver the oil.. Tracking their movement in the oceans aims to find out who is doing this transport.

The set of ships is known as a “shadow” fleet, and industry experts estimate its size at around 600 vessels. The number represents about 10% of the global number of large tankers and continues to grow. Few known players, such as shell companies in Dubai or Hong Kong, are involved in some cases.

Russia's oil customers in India and China outnumber previous ones in Europe

Fleet tracking has become more important as Moscow tries to avoid working with Western carriers. According to CNN Brasil, customers in China and India outnumber the European clientele, which is not authorized to buy oil from Russia by sea and refined products, such as diesel.

Russian oil exports to China and India reached record levels in January according to data and analytics firm Kpler. This came after Europe's ban on Russian oil transported by sea came into effect.

Transporting oil to more distant customers requires additional vessels and shipowners willing to deal with greater complexity and legal risk, particularly after price caps are imposed on Russian oil by Group of Seven countries.

To continue exporting oil, Russia has split the world's energy system in two.

The growth of the parallel fleet highlights the significant changes in the world oil market, which were a consequence of the Russian war. To continue exporting the product, the world's second largest oil exporter has changed decades-old trade patterns and divided the world's energy system in two.

“There is the fleet that is not doing any Russian business, and there is the fleet that is almost exclusively doing Russian business,” says Richard Matthews, head of research at EA Gibson, an international shipbroker. According to him, only a few ships are doing “a little bit of both”.

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Roberta Souza

Petroleum Engineer, postgraduate in Commissioning of Industrial Units, specialist in Industrial Corrosion. Get in touch to suggest an agenda, advertise job vacancies or advertise on our portal. We do not receive resumes

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