EMEA News
Spain: Tanker Fined in Suspect Ship-to-Ship Transfer
Spain has fined a Vietnamese ship operator EUR 120,000 ($129,000) for a ship-to-ship operation of oil that took place outside port limits but inside Spain's territorial waters. The fine was announced by the ministry of transport following an investigation into the affair.
The ship, the Elephant, was inspected at the Spanish mainland port of Ferrol earlier this year. Its documentation showed an oil transfer operation off the port of Ceuta that had not been notified to the relevant marine authority.
The ship is operated and owned by Hung Phat Maritime Trading, according to ship database equasis.
Spain's maritime authority, the general directorate of the merchant marine, is monitoring activity in the Alboran Sea for operations of this ilk which it says have increased in frequency following European Union sanctions against Russian oil exports over the Russian government's war in Ukraine.
