The Russian smuggler captain was released on bail

The captain of the tanker, detained by the Albanian authorities for smuggling Rosneft, was released on bail.

On February 20, the Albanian police detained the Grace Felix tanker with Rosneft in the port of Durres. It is reported that the vessel was carrying 22,500 tons of contraband energy. The cargo arrived on the ship through a ship-to-ship operation near Kalamata (Greece). The market value of oil products on the tanker reaches 40 million euros, writes Trade Winds.

Law enforcement officers detained the ship’s captain until the circumstances are clarified. The passports of 22 crew members were confiscated. This happened after the police discovered forged documents related to the transportation of Rosneft from ship to ship.

Captain Alexey Smaznov is suspected of smuggling more than 180,000 barrels of oil and tax evasion. The Russian was unable to provide a convincing explanation regarding the delivery address of the cargo and the absence of a certificate indicating the origin of the oil. Smaznov told the investigation that he “was only a carrier”, and the oil product on the ship was ordered by an unnamed Albanian oil company.

The captain has now been released on bail. The Russian returned to the ship, but is awaiting a further court decision.

Police said the trial was based on intelligence gathered from a series of investigations into oil smuggling from Libya and other countries.

Albania is not a member of the EU, which has imposed a ban on imports and price restrictions on Russian oil. However, the country was one of the first to introduce its own sanctions against the Russian Federation.

Reference: Grace Felix is an oil tanker flying the flag of Liberia. The tanker belongs to the Cypriot company Cymare Shipmanagement Ltd. The ship was built in 2008. Deadweight — 37.6 thousand tons.