A massive oil spill involving two Russian tankers is underscoring the dangers of the dark fleet of ships that’s been boosting President Vladimir Putin’s war chest.
On Sunday, the Volgoneft 212 and Volgoneft 239 vessels were damaged during a heavy storm, discharging 3,700 tons of low-grade fuel oil into the Kerch Strait between the Russian-occupied Crimean Peninsula and Russia.
Both ships are over 50 years old and were carrying nearly 9,000 metric tons of oil products in total, reported TASS state news agency.
One crewmember died, and 12 were rescued from the Volgoneft 212, which split in half. All 14 crew aboard the Volgoneft 239 were rescued.
Greenpeace Ukraine has warned of an “environmental catastrophe” in the Kerch Strait.
While the extent of damage depends on the product involved, the region already experienced “severe damage to the environment” in 2007 when 1,200 to 1,600 tons of oil was spilled,” Greenpeace said.
Aging ships are transporting Russian energy
The problem is more than environmental.
The G7 imposed an oil price cap on Russian oil in December 2022, prompting Russia to grow its shadow network of mostly aging ships.
Using that shadow fleet of ships has helped Russia circumvent Western restrictions and allowed it to continue trading its oil at market prices, according to the European Union.
However, because many of those ships are old, they are also more prone to accidents. Should the ships not have adequate insurance, the burden of clean-up and salvage costs could fall on coastal countries.
Last month, 206 out of the 369 vessels that exported Russian crude oil and oil products were shadow tankers, according to the Finland-based Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air, a think-tank.
About 30% of the shadow tankers carrying Russian oil were at least 20 years old, according to CREA. Major Western oil companies generally do not use ships above 15 years old.
Europe to step up checks on tanker insurance
The European Union is already cracking down on Russia’s dark fleet.
On Monday, the EU sanctioned 52 dark fleet ships. That’s in addition to the 27 ships it had previously sanctioned. These vessels will not be able to access EU ports and services.
“These ships have been found to be engaged in high-risk shipping practices when transporting Russian oil or petroleum products, in arms deliveries, grain theft, or supporting the Russian energy sector,” the European Commission said in its announcement.
A group of European countries — including Denmark, Estonia, Norway, and Sweden — is also planning to increase checks on the insurance coverage of tankers carrying Russian oil, Bloomberg reported on Monday, citing people with knowledge of the matter.
Bloomberg’s sources said they expect no consequences for ships that are short on their coverage in the immediate term, although the information collected could help with the crafting of such measures in the future.
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