Page 7 - FSUOGM Week 09 2023

FSUOGM COMMENTARY FSUOGM

Institute of International Finance (IIF) Financial Times investigation
A major factor in Russia’s seaborne exports is In December the Financial Times published the
the legitimate use of Greek ships. An investiga- results of an investigation into the size of the
tion done by the Institute of International Fi- ghost fleet and reported that it contained over
nance (IIF) that tracks the ownership of ships 100 ships, based on information gathered from
carrying Russian oil found that Greece is play- shipping brokers and analysts.
ing a leading role in shipping Russian crude. Energy consultancy Rystad says Russia has
Under the sixth package of sanctions, Greek added 103 tankers in 2022 through purchases
shipping was given an exemption, as it remains and the reallocation of ships servicing Iran and
an important part of the country’s economy. Venezuela – both already subject to Western oil
Greek ships accounted for 35% of Russian oil embargoes.
transported to Europe before the war, but that When the embargo came into force in
has since increased to 55%, according to the IIF. December, the EU said that any non-EU-flagged
Theoretically as EU companies, Greek shipping tanker that was caught breaching the oil price
would be included in the EU’s ban, but there cap rule would face a ban from Western mari-
have been reports that Greek shipping compa- time services, but the punishment was watered
nies have been actively re-flagging their ships in down to 90 days, rather than a lifetime ban as
order to dodge the ban. originally proposed, because of Greek lobbying.
More recently, as the restrictions on EU ships
against carrying Russian crude are tightened, Trade press investigations
there are multiple reports of Greek shipping Several publications amongst the tanker trade
lines selling their older ships to Russia at hugely press have attempted to answer the question of
inflated prices. Normally tankers are retired after how big the fleet is and have come to a variety
20 years, but as a result of these deals the average of different conclusions.
age of tankers carrying Russian oil has been ris- One of the problems is: do you count the
ing quickly, with reports of vessels as old as 25 ships that are conducting ship-to-ship transfers
years still in service. as part of the ghost fleet. Twitter has started to

Country origin of tanker ownership carrying Russian crude oil by departure month.

Week 09 02•March•2023 www. NEWSBASE .com P7