Tankers with Russian oil have been heading directly to the ports of the European Union for several weeks now. In total, 15 tankers of the shadow fleet have been spotted, according to Greenpeace,
RBC-Ukraine reports.
According to the study, the vessels load crude oil in Russian ports in the Baltic Sea. According to GPS data, the vessels headed directly to EU ports to pump out crude oil there.
This violates current EU sanctions. Transportation of Russian crude oil by sea to the EU has been banned since March 2023. The transportation involved vessels of Greek shipping companies, some of which are part of the so-called "Russian shadow fleet". These are tankers suspected of helping Russia circumvent sanctions.
Using satellite data, Greenpeace researchers have identified about 15 tankers since July 2024 that have been sailing directly to European ports from the Russian Baltic Sea ports of Primorsk, Ust-Luga, and the Novorossiysk oil port on the Black Sea.
The ships' boarding showed that the vessels left the Russian oil ports full and heavily loaded. After arriving at their destination ports, the tankers' drafts decreased by several meters. This is proof that the ships were fully or partially pumped out. Each of the tankers is about 250 meters long and can carry more than 150 million liters of crude oil.
