Ship-to-ship transshipment of Russian diesel fuel continued in the northern Aegean Sea

Traders are shifting ship-to-ship (STS) handling of Russian diesel to a new yard in the northern Aegean as Western sanctions hit fuel-carrying vessels loaded at Russian ports, LSEG and market sources said.

Since the European Union's full embargo on Russian oil products came into force in February 2023, traders have been rerouting diesel exports from Russian ports to Brazil, Turkey, Africa, Asia and STS transshipments. Loading at STS makes it difficult for Western countries to track Russian oil product trade.

The international waters of Greece's Laconian Gulf have become one of the most popular destinations for shipments Russian oil products at the STS in Europe, thanks to its proximity to Russian ports and the Suez Canal, which provides access to Asian markets.

In April 2024, Greece issued two notifications of military exercises in the Laconian Gulf, urging merchant and other vessels to avoid the area. Tankers carrying Russian oil products were moving from the waters of the southeastern Peloponnese mainly to Malta and Port Said in northern Egypt.

In July, at least four ships carrying about 123,000 tonnes of diesel and gasoil loaded in the Russian Black Sea ports of Taman and Tuapse departed for transshipment in neutral waters south of the Greek island of Chios, LSEG data shows.

Three more vessels loaded a total of about 100,000 tonnes of gasoil at Tuapse in August, also bound for STS south of the islands in the northern Aegean, according to traders and shipping data.

Latest sanctions EU could be another reason for the surge in activity on the STS, market sources say. In June, EU countries adopted the 14th round of sanctions against Russia, aimed at combating the so-called shadow fleet of foreign ships transporting its oil products. According to LSEG, Russia exports about 3.5 million tons of diesel fuel and low-sulfur gasoil per month, including up to 0.8 million tons from Tuapse and Taman.

[Reuters]

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