A tanker belonging to Russia’s shadow fleet is on fire near the Strait of Hormuz (video)
17.06.2025 - 19:12
Two oil tankers collided near the UAE. One of them is a tanker from Russia’s “shadow fleet.”
Bloomberg reports.
The supertanker Front Eagle and the smaller vessel Adalynn collided off the coast of the United Arab Emirates at 00:15 local time on June 17, Frontline Plc, the owner of the first vessel, said. The incident was “navigational” and “not related to the ongoing regional conflict.”
News of the collision caught the attention of shippers and oil traders in morning trading in Asia and the Middle East, as such incidents in the Strait of Hormuz are very rare.
Read also: The Strait of Hormuz and its significance in the context of the Iran-Israel conflict
According to ship tracking data, the Front Eagle suffered signal jamming on June 15 and 16 as it passed the Iranian port of Assaluyya, although it was not close to the site of the accident. The supertanker was heading to China from the Iraqi oil terminal of Basra, according to ship tracking data compiled by Bloomberg.
The 23-year-old tanker Adalynn flies under the flag of Antigua and Barbuda, and there is no information about its insurer in industry databases. The ship has often been seen on the route between the Russian port of Ust-Luga in the Baltic Sea and Vadinar on the west coast of India.
The tanker is “blacklisted” on the War&Sanctions platform of the Ukrainian Ministry of Defense. The tanker was involved in the export of Russian oil/oil products from the Russian port of Ust-Luga, as well as using deceptive practices (disabling AIS, conducting shady activities in the Kola Bay area in November 2023, March-April 2024).
The international public organization Greenpeace refers the tanker to the “shadow fleet” that transports Russian oil around the world and threatens the environment.
Read also: Risks for shipping: how companies are responding to the escalation between Israel and Iran
