The Maritime Administration of Panama announced its intention to deprive at least 4 tankers from the Russian shadow fleet of the opportunity to fly under its flag.
Points of attention
- Panama has made the decision to deprive at least 4 tankers from the Russian shadow fleet of the opportunity to fly under its flag, which can have implications for the fleet's operations.
- Experts are concerned about the ecological risks posed by the large-scale transportation of oil by the shadow fleet of Russia, Iran, and Venezuela, emphasizing the potential for a significant environmental disaster.
- Global efforts are being taken to curb the activities of the shadow fleet and mitigate negative impacts on the environment, with countries like Great Britain imposing sanctions on vessels involved in circumventing sanctions.
- The shadow fleet, comprising tankers from Russia, Iran, and Venezuela, engages in transporting oil to various destinations, with a significant presence off the coast of Malaysia raising alarms of a possible environmental catastrophe.
- Panama's decision to cease registering shadow fleet tankers under its flag highlights the international community's growing concerns about the environmental risks associated with such activities and the importance of taking decisive action to prevent disasters.
What is known about Panama depriving Russia of the ability to use shadow fleet tankers under its flag
It is noted that the four vessels that were recognized as part of Russia's shadow fleet for transporting oil to bypass Western sanctions are owned by LNG Alpha Shipping, LNG Beta Shipping, LNG Delta Shipping and LNG Gamma Shipping, registered in Singapore.
We are talking about North Air, North Mountain, North Way and North Sky tankers.
The Panamanian maritime organization said that it will continue to protect the interests of the country's maritime community and prevent ships from flying its flag if they are under sanctions.
Registering ships under the Panamanian flag provides significant advantages to shipowners. These include the possibility of open registration and the possibility of hiring foreign workers with competitive wages.
What is known about the activities of the shadow fleet of the Russian Federation for the transportation of oil to circumvent sanctions
The government of Great Britain announced the largest package of sanctions against oil tankers of the "shadow fleet" of the Russian Federation.
New sanctions were imposed against 18 vessels. Thus, the total number of ships of the shadow fleet of the Russian Federation, which are under British sanctions, will increase to 43 units.
It is noted that the vessels were prohibited from accessing the seaports of Great Britain, as well as from using the country's key maritime services.
Over the past year, the world's largest group of shadow fleet tankers from Russia, Iran and Venezuela has formed off the coast of the Johor region in Malaysia, threatening a large-scale environmental disaster in the area.
The group of Russian, Iranian and Venezuelan shadow fleet vessels is the largest such group in the world, according to Jeffrey Payette, the US State Department's chief energy official.
These ships transport oil from Iran, Venezuela and Russia to China, India and other countries.
In particular, Iranian oil bound for China is often disguised as Malaysian oil.
It is known that several dangerous incidents have already occurred during the last year, which made experts sound the alarm because of the threat of a large-scale environmental disaster.
