There’s a shadow fleet sneaking Russian oil around the world. It’s an ecological disaster waiting to happen.

autotldr Bot , 3 months ago

This is the best summary I could come up with:

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“They tend to be older, they may also be less well maintained, they are run by less experienced crews, and they carry less insurance than they should,” Erik Broekhuizen, head of tanker research at Poten & Partners, an oil and gas consulting firm, told Vox.

(A similar dynamic has emerged in recent weeks with reports that the US has pressured Ukraine to dial back its aerial attacks on Russia’s oil refineries, which are also having an impact on global prices by reducing supply.)

According to one analysis from just after the invasion, disrupting Russia’s seaborne exports with the kind of strict sanctions that, for instance, the US has applied to Iran in the past, could have pushed global oil prices to over $200 a barrel, more than twice their current level.

As documented in a recent Atlantic Council report, shadow fleet ships have had to be rescued in the Bay of Gibraltar, have run aground near the Chinese port of Qingdao, and have drifted for days after losing power in Indonesia.

Russia has been keen to increase the use of its Northern Sea Route through the Arctic to China, including authorizing shipments by tankers that don’t have the reinforced “ice-class” hulls normally required for the trip.

The Financial Times also reported last fall that the EU was considering plans under which Denmark, which controls the straits at the entrance to the Baltic Sea through which 60 percent of Russia’s oil exports pass, could be given the task of inspecting or even blocking ships that were not found to be carrying recognized insurance.

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