Russia's shadow fleet is massively corroding and threatens a large-scale environmental disaster - FT
Kyiv • UNN
More than half of Russia's shadow fleet is corroding and threatens an environmental disaster. The vessels are over 20 years old, lack insurance and proper maintenance, and should be scrapped.
More than half of Russia's "shadow fleet" oil tankers carrying sanctioned oil are corroding and could cause a large-scale environmental disaster. This is reported by the Financial Times, citing Anil Sharma, the executive director of the world's largest ship recycling company, GMS Partnership, UNN reports.
Details
According to him, an increasing number of vessels continue to be operated significantly longer than their standard service life, even though they should have already been scrapped due to wear and tear and corrosion.
"At least a third of such vessels need to be decommissioned, and possibly more. Frankly, I believe we are talking about more than half of the fleet,"
Shipbroker Clarksons estimates the "shadow fleet" at about 1,800 vessels, of which approximately 1,500 are oil or product tankers. Many of them are well over 20 years old—the age at which cargo ships are typically scrapped.
"Owners of vessels subject to sanctions are currently maximizing the service life of their ships due to profitable trade resulting from rising oil prices caused by the crisis in the Persian Gulf,"
In turn, Alexander Saverys, head of the shipping company CMB Tech, called the situation a "ticking time bomb."
"These vessels are uninsured, poorly maintained, have low-quality crews on board; it's simply a disaster waiting to happen. And in fact, it is a great miracle that no major accidents have occurred yet," Saverys summarized.
Recall
At the end of May, drones attacked three tankers of the Russian "shadow fleet" in the Black Sea near Turkey.