IMO Warns of Risks From 300-600 Tankers in 'Shadow Fleet'

by Ship & Bunker News Team
Thursday April 6, 2023

The International Maritime Organization (IMO) has warned of the risks posed by a 'shadow fleet' of tankers concealing their identities and AIS positions to circumvent sanctions.

The UN body's legal committee reviewed evidence of as many as 300-600 tankers seeking to evade sanctions and high insurance costs at its meeting in London last week, the organisation said in a statement on its website.

The tankers are mostly older vessels, and have 'substandard maintenance, unclear ownership and a severe lack of insurance', the IMO said. The vessels pose an increased risk of oil spills and collisions.

Illicit ship-to-ship transfers at sea have increased significantly over the past year after the war in Ukraine made Russia's oil exports unwelcome in much of the West. Russian oil exports are largely continuing, but in some parts of the world efforts are being made to disguise them and blend them into other cargoes to allow them to be used in Europe and the US.

"Following the discussion, the Committee considered that ship-to-ship transfers in the high seas were high risk activities that undermined the international regime with respect to maritime safety, environmental protection and liability and compensation needed to be urgently addressed," the IMO said in the statement.

Ship & Bunker News Team
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