Russian "shadow fleet" leaves oil leaks in world waters - Politico. PHOTO

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Journalists have identified at least nine cases of Russian "shadow fleet" vessels leaving oil spills in world waters since 2021. The alleged source was the tanker Innova, which was transporting 1 million barrels of sanctioned Russian oil from Russia at the time.

This is stated in an investigation by Politico and the non-profit journalism group SourceMaterial, Censor.NET reports.

The investigators used satellite imagery from the non-governmental organization SkyTruth and combined it with shipping data from the market analysis company Lloyd's List and the commodity platform Kpler. They found oil leaks linked to Russia's shadow fleet in different parts of the world—from Thailand to Vietnam, Italy, and Mexico.

These tankers also passed through busy shipping corridors such as the Red Sea and the Panama Canal. This means that in the event of a serious accident, international trade routes could be disrupted.

Російський "тіньовий флот" залишає витоки нафти у світових водах

Swedish Foreign Minister Maria Malmer Stenergaard told the newspaper that tankers pose a "significant danger" to the marine environment, and the cases revealed by journalists illustrate this.

As Russia is under Western sanctions, more and more tankers are smuggling its oil around the world, risking a potential environmental disaster.

Російський "тіньовий флот" залишає витоки нафти у світових водах

Satellite images show that small accidents are already happening around the world, mostly unnoticed by the authorities.

The Innova is a case in point. On 12 March, six days after leaving the port of Murmansk in northwestern Russia, satellites captured images of a long black spot on the sea surface. Transponder signals from the vessel indicate that it was in the area where the spot appeared.


Російський "тіньовий флот" залишає витоки нафти у світових водах

Satellite images cannot determine whether the slick was definitely oil.

However, according to Alexandros Glikas, a marine engineer and CEO of maritime transport services company DYNAMARINE, such stains often result from the discharge of sludge, an oil-water mixture generated during ship operations. The fact that the substance can be seen from space is also a strong indication of the presence of oil.

"Moscow has changed the labelling of its crude oil to conceal its origin and has organized an ever-growing fleet of more than 600 tankers, whose owners are often hidden through shell companies, and used it to avoid the $60 per barrel oil price cap imposed by the G7 - a tactic that Iran and Venezuela have also used for similar purposes," the newspaper writes.

Not only are these vessels creaky and largely unregulated, they are often uninsured. In the event of a leak or a more serious spill, governments will have a hard time holding these vessels accountable, the journalists added.