The “Dark fleet” carrying the sanctioned oil will lose its insurer and will be in trouble
The oil tankers of the "dark fleet", which transport oil from Russia, Venezuela and Iran, are a big problem for the application of Western sanctions, but they are also a risk for the coastal countries because they are old and not safe.
The Marshall Islands, one of the most popular flag states for oil tankers, has shut down an insurance company that offered insurance services to tankers in this “dark fleet” of ships carrying the sanctioned oil.
The insurer, Continental Steamship Owners Mutual Protecting & Indemnity Association Ltd, was “forcibly dissolved” by the Marshall Islands, International Registries reported. Game over.
MT Liberty run aground
The now disbanded company was said to have been the insurer of the tanker Liberty, part of the "shadow fleet", which ran aground off Singapore last week. The Cameroonian-flagged Liberty was reportedly carrying approximately 1 million barrels of fuel oil from Venezuela when it ran aground in the Strait of Malacca. Obviously whoever insured this ship seriously risked paying billions in damages and going bankrupt.
The Indonesian Navy said earlier in the week that the Liberty's cargo had been removed.
The accident highlights the environmental concern for this irregular fleet, which mostly uses older oil tankers at greater risk of oil spills and environmental disasters.
Earlier this month it emerged that Panama, the Marshall Islands and Liberia have come under increased pressure from the West to increase vessel monitoring. These popular tanker flag states have come under pressure to ensure that tankers flying their flag do not breach the $60-a-barrel cap for Russian crude, Reuters reported last week, citing a source who has seen the communications to flag States.
The United States has led G7 and EU efforts to impose sanctions and embargoes on Russian crude and fuel exports. The $60 per barrel price cap for Russian crude means that shipments of Russian crude to third countries can use Western insurance and financing if cargoes are sold at or below the $60 per barrel price cap.
Meanwhile, Russia has amassed a "dark fleet" of oil tankers, which helps it ship its oil to international markets, especially in Asia, after many Greek shipowners, who previously provided these services, decided to sever ties .
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The article The “Dark Fleet” transporting sanctioned oil loses its insurer and will be in trouble comes from Economic Scenarios .
This is a machine translation of a post published on Scenari Economici at the URL https://scenarieconomici.it/la-dark-fleet-che-trasporta-il-petrolio-sanzionato-perde-il-suo-assicuratore-e-avra-dei-guai/ on Thu, 14 Dec 2023 08:00:30 +0000.