Greek Shipowners Fill Russia’s Tonnage Void to Blunt Sanctions Impact
European-owned vessels are now exporting nearly 40% of all Russian oil. This not only blunts the impact of sanctions on Russia but introduces new trade patterns that require greater risk management for marine service providers, including insurers and charterers. Windward analysis of June tanker activity shows that 37% of Russian-origin crude and refined products were…
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Tankers Newly Reflagged to Vanuatu Show Not All Sanctions Are Equal
Not all sanctions are equal. There’s no better contemporaneous example than EU-sanctioned, Russia-trading Aframax tanker Torex (IMO 9257814), which sailed through the English Channel on Thursday (July 3), heading to northern European waters to load at Russia’s Baltic ports. The 22-year-old ‘dark fleet’ ship has learned to play the game of maritime regulatory arbitrage with…
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Red Sea Risk Rises After Two Houthi Attacks in 48 Hours
The Houthis Are Back, and with a Vengeance After a seven-month lull in Houthi attacks on commercial shipping, two vessels were targeted within 48 hours using drones and rocket-propelled grenades launched from multiple small craft. Both vessels were Greek-owned, and each belonged to fleets with other ships that had called at Israeli ports within the…
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Russia Defies Sanctions as Shadow Fleet Resumes Arctic LNG 2 Exports
Arctic LNG 2 Resumes Operations All eyes are on US-sanctioned Iris (IMO 9953523) and Russia’s Arctic LNG 2 terminal after the liquefied natural gas carrier loaded the first cargo from the plant in nearly nine months. The loading marks both a restart of operations at the flagship gas project and a renewed Russian commitment to…
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