European Nations Issue Warning to Russia-Linked Shadow Fleet

A group of 14 European nations have issued an open warning to shadow-fleet tankers in the Baltic and North Seas, raising the stakes for vessels they say are endangering maritime safety.

Ships can only sail under the flag of one state, and must maintain valid documentation on safety and insurance, among other requirements, the countries said in a joint statement issued by the UK Department for Transport on Monday. Tankers that fail to do so will be treated as stateless vessels, the signatories said, citing an article in a global maritime treaty as legal basis.

The so-called shadow, or dark, fleet is a group of around 1,500 tankers that carry Russian, Iranian and Venezuelan oil around the world. The ships are typically older than regular vessels, and often use false flags to appear legitimate without having to comply with regulations.

By designating tankers as stateless, the nations could increase their capacity to intervene against them. The statement goes some way to formalizing the actions a handful of European countries have taken over recent weeks — stepping up pressure on ships that are crucial to Russian oil exports.

The French navy last week boarded what it said was a falsely flagged oil tanker coming from Russia, while a vessel that was pretending to be another ship was forced to U-turn off Germany earlier this month. Governments have long pledged to take measures against the dark fleet, but they’ve toughened their stance this year. The US has also been seizing tankers linked to the Venezuelan oil trade.

The 14 states singled out Russia as interfering with satellite-based positioning and navigation systems that endanger international shipping. The global maritime community should cooperate to develop alternative onshore radio-navigation systems as a back-up when satellite-based ones are disrupted, they said in the statement. They warned that ships’ automatic identification systems shouldn’t be tampered with.

The 14 countries, including Sweden, France, Germany and the UK, line up along waterways that are the only outlets for major crude export hubs in western Russia. Tankers lifting Urals crude from Primorsk and Ust-Luga must sail through the Baltic Sea and the North Sea before entering the Atlantic Ocean.

Photograph: An oil tanker at sea. Photo credit: Marcelo del Pozo/Bloomberg