In Finland, they announced a threat from tankers with Russian oil
12.04.2024 - 15:59
The threat of a large-scale oil spill in the Baltic Sea is growing as Russia has deployed a fleet of hundreds of tankers to sell oil to circumvent sanctions.
This was announced by the head of the maritime security department of the Border Service of Finland, Mikko Simola, writes Deutsche Welle.
Thus, 70 old-style ships with 100,000 tons of crude oil pass through the Gulf of Finland every week. The number of flights increased after the full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine.
Read also: Which companies transport Rosneft, avoiding Ukrainian sanctions.
According to the Finnish border service, the tankers sail under the flags of Cameroon, Gabon, Djibouti, Palau or Belize.
“The border guards say that such ships have never been there before. These states are probably not familiar with swimming in the icy conditions of the northern countries, which increases the risk of an “oil plague” — a large-scale environmental disaster caused by an oil spill,” the article says.
Experts emphasize that old ships without clear affiliation to a certain state and insurance allow Russia to export oil on a significant scale, despite the sanctions.
As previously reported by USM, in March, the Turkish operator of 44 large vessels was sanctioned by Great Britain for the illegal transportation of Russian oil.
