Despite sanctions, Russia continues to take billions from the export of petrol. Tankers of the Russian shadow fleet pass through the Danish straits on their way to China, India or Turkey. But Copenhagen is determined to put an end to that.
The flags under which rusty oil tankers are increasingly crossing European waters are very difficult to identify. And this is a desired effect - since they are not the property of small island states, but are part of the Russian shadow fleet, writes the German “Die Welt".
The publication recalls that sanctions have been imposed on Russian crude oil since December 2022. A ceiling price of $60 per barrel was introduced worldwide. To realize this, the G7 countries and Australia banned their shipping companies, banks and insurance companies from participating in the transport of Russian fuel, which is sold at a higher price. And since shipping is dominated by Western insurers, it affects almost the entire world's merchant fleet.
Putin's Shadow Tanker Fleet
However, the Kremlin somehow manages to sell its oil at higher prices, writes “De Welt". In order to achieve this, the Russian state has indirectly bought its own fleet of old tankers that transport the fuel to India, China or Turkey.
The USA and Great Britain have also imposed sanctions on the ships of the “shadow fleet" of Moscow, but also the European Union, which finally decided to act: last week, the EC proposed that a part of the 1,200-ship fleet be included in Brussels' sanctions list. There are no details yet, but it is certain that the package is mainly aimed at Russian exports of liquefied gas.
Denmark seems to no longer want to wait for the protracted process in Brussels, commented “De Welt". Copenhagen wants to ban the passage of tankers from the “shadow fleet" through its straits, which are the gateway to the Baltic Sea. This would definitely be a problem for Russia, which sends about a third of its exports from there.
$100 billion profit per year
The German publication explains that since the start of the war in Ukraine, Russia has built a parallel maritime trade network to circumvent Western sanctions. The ships languish in administrative fog, are financed through complicated channels and sail under the flags of foreign countries. According to the experts, “the shadow fleet" meanwhile, it consists of about 1,500 ships, which is 20 percent of all major merchant ships in the world. More than 1,000 are believed to be used to transport Russian oil. According to fuel expert Sergei Vakulenko, quoted by Die Welt, a fleet of 200 old tankers would cost around four billion dollars - a pittance compared to the hundred billion dollars Russia earned last year from exporting its oil.
The West's fight against Moscow's special fleet is difficult for many reasons, finds “De Welt". Firstly because they often travel under the flags of third countries such as Liberia, Saudi Arabia or the United Arab Emirates, which tend to turn a blind eye. On the other hand, the lines between the legitimate global oil trade and the parallel economy are blurring. Experts speak of a “dark fleet", which is unequivocally attributed to Russia, and of a “gray fleet", which moves between the two worlds. These are, for example, ships that are officially owned by a third-party company or that frequently change flags to disguise their true owner or the origin of the cargo.
To effectively prevent the Russian fuel trade, the West must pay more attention to the “shadow fleet". Denmark and the other Baltic Sea states must stop Russia's shadow fleet of tankers - not only to reduce Moscow's revenue that funds the war in Ukraine, but also because these ships pose a threat because they are old and can easily cause an environmental disaster. a disaster in the Baltic Sea that is only a matter of time, says "De Welt".
Denmark is not alone
There is another problem - Russian ships in Danish waters refuse to use pilotage services, which is not only a violation of shipping etiquette, but can also lead to major accidents. Another German publication - newspaper "Merkur" citing the "Financial Times".
Denmark's measure would be radical - although at the moment it is not known exactly how Copenhagen plans to approach the Russian "shadow fleet". Other EU countries are involved in the fight against him, informed the Danish Foreign Minister Lars Loke Rasmussen. Closing the straits is complicated from the point of view of international law, but Danish lawyers have discovered a “loophole" - if the ships are in bad condition and travel the seas uninsured, this constitutes a violation of international rules and norms for the prevention, limitation and control of pollution of the seas by vessels.
I.e. the legal basis for closing the straits is not yet a fact, says “De Welt". But it is certain that Denmark would not take this step without the consent of other countries, since the Danish straits are international waters. As it seems - now Copenhagen plans to tackle precisely this important side of things.